A Kentucky woman faces a felony charge for allegedly lying about being sexually assaulted in the bathroom of a Walmart store.
Authorities charged 18-year-old Autumn Tomlin with falsely reporting an incident, a Class D felony under Kentucky law.
The charge stems from an incident on Feb. 4, in which employees at a Walmart in Glasgow, Kentucky, found Tomlin unconscious in the handicap stall of the women’s bathroom, according to a criminal complaint cited by WBKO.
Tomlin allegedly told the staff she had been raped. The complaint states that she was discovered lying in the restroom stall with visible injuries to her face. Officers reported seeing blood smeared on the wall and floor. Her pants and an open condom wrapper were also found in the toilet.
Tomlin reportedly told officers that she had been forced into the stall by an unknown man who raped her, then slammed her face against the wall.
She was taken to a local hospital, where a sexual assault evidence collection kit was performed.
Eventually, after further investigation that included a review of Walmart’s surveillance footage and an analysis of forensic evidence collected from the bathroom, authorities discovered Tomlin made a false report, the complaint states.
Authorities said surveillance video showed no evidence supporting her claim that she was attacked inside the restroom.
Tomlin reportedly confessed that she lied in a follow-up interview where police reviewed the video with her.
Court documents state that Tomlin told detectives she broke her own glasses and used them to cut her face. Investigators also verified that the condom wrapper found at the scene came from her home. Her husband told police that they had the same brand at home.
Detectives asked Tomlin why she fabricated the incident. She didn’t provide a direct reason, but stated she had experienced trauma earlier in her life.
“It is important to emphasize that our agency investigates many reports of sexual assault. The overwhelming majority are legitimate crimes involving real victims,” the Glasgow Police Department said in a statement. “False reports negatively impact other victims who want to report their trauma, while also undermining public trust and diverting critical emergency resources.”
