| For Immediate Release July 24, 2006 |
Contact: | Susan Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel (714) 347-8408 Office (714) 323-4486 Cell |
DANA POINT WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FALSELY ACCUSING SIX MEN OF RAPE
SANTA ANA – A Dana Point woman plead guilty today to falsely accusing six men of kidnapping and raping her. Tamara Anne Moonier, 29, is charged with one felony count each of grand theft, perjury, and presenting a false claim to the state, as well as one misdemeanor count of making a false report to an officer. She is scheduled to be sentenced September 22, 2006 at 8:30am in C36, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Pending the results of a Probation and Sentencing Report, and as part of her plea deal, she is facing up to one year in jail.
On June 6, 2004, Moonier went to the police and falsely reported that she had been kidnapped at gun point by one man a few hours earlier outside of a bar in Fullerton. She lied to police and said that she had been taken to an unknown location where she was raped repeatedly at gun point by six men. Moonier claimed she had never seen the men prior to the attack, but was able to identify them through a photo line up. While the case was under investigation, Moonier applied for emergency state funds that are made available to the victims of crimes and received a check for $1,850.
The case was investigated by the Fullerton Police Department, who interviewed the accused men, one of which provided a video tape of the encounter. The 40-minute tape, which was shown to the Grand Jury during the indictment, showed Moonier actively participating and orchestrating the sexual encounters. The tape contradicted her rape accusations against the men.
Moonier was indicted by the Grand Jury for grand theft for receiving money from the state that is designated for the victims of crimes. She was also charged with perjury, as the application to the state indicates that all information is provided under penalty of perjury, as well as for providing falsified statements in her application. Additionally, she was charged with a misdemeanor for filing a false report with a police officer. She plead guilty to all counts.
“These types of crimes are dangerous because they have the potential to put people in prison for the rest of their lives for a crime they did not commit,” said Orange County Deputy District Attorney Paul Chrisopoulos. “If these six men had been charged and convicted, they faced the possibility of life in prison. In addition, the funds that Ms. Moonier received are reserved for victims of crime to be used for emergency relocation, hospital bills and counseling. When the fund is used for a fraudulent purpose, then it hurts the availability of resources for true victims.”
Deputy District Attorney Paul Chrisopoulos is prosecuting the case.
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