Leiha Ann-Sue Artman mugshot. Image courtesy of the Muskegon County Jail.
A Michigan woman who accused four Black men of abducting, beating and repeatedly raping her was sentenced to one year in the county jail Wednesday after she confessed to making the entire story up.
According to MLive, 25-year-old Leiha Ann-Sue Artman pleaded guilty to making a false report of a felony — a crime that carries a sentence of up to four years behind bars.
Artman already has a lengthy rap sheet, but even that wasn’t enough to convince a judge to give her actual prison time. Her status as a second-offense repeat offender could have upped the penalty to a maximum of six years in the county jail, the publication reports.
The Michigan mother told police that four Black men abducted her from her driveway on the night of March 27 and threw her in the trunk of their car. Artman claimed that she was later beaten and sexually assaulted by the men in an unknown location.
Per MLive, Artman textED her boyfriend photos of her tied up and gagged with blood dripping from her head, just to give her story some clout. Court documents show that the boyfriend also received texts demanding ransom for Artman’s release. The Michigan woman told authorities she was eventually able to call her boyfriend, who picked her up near her home where the “kidnappers” reportedly dropped her off.
“At a later date, [Artman] implicated certain people who may have been involved in it, but still indicated the assault was committed by people not known to her,” said Matt Roberts, a chief trial attorney at the Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office.
Michigan State Police Troopers interviewed Artman at a local hospital on March 29 where she confessed to fabricating the story. Authorities still don’t know why she made everything up.
According to MLive, Muskegon Circuit Judge Timothy Hicks declined to send the Michigan woman to prison, but instead gave her 12 months in jail with credit for two days served and 24 months of probation. Artman also was fined $1,158.
The publication reports that Artman was previously convicted for resisting and opposing a police officer, as well as a felony for breaking and entering a building. In February 2015, the Oceana County Press reported that the Michigan mother was found guilty of larceny less than $200. Then, in June 2016, Artman was sentenced to two days in jail and 12 months probation for financial transaction device fraud, according to MLive.
Artman’s case comes just one month after a Jimmy John’s delivery driver lied about being robbed at gunpoint by a Black man at the University of Missouri. An Atlanta police officer was also recently charged and fired after she made up a story about being shot by a Black man.
