Girl Admits to Lying About Being Raped at O.C. School

A 12-year-old girl admitted Monday that she lied about being raped at knifepoint last week in the restroom of a Buena Park elementary school.

The girl, whose name was withheld, confessed after investigators found inconsistencies in her story, said Gary Worrall, a Buena Park police spokesman. She could be charged with making a false police report, which is a misdemeanor, he said.

“Our emphasis has shifted from a massive manhunt for a violent sexual predator to just getting the help this girl needs,” said Worrall, who didn’t know why the girl made up the story.

“She must be a troubled young lady.”

The girl had told police a man raped her Friday at Gordon H. Beatty Elementary School in the 8200 block of Country Club Drive. She described her attacker as a 5-foot-10, 170-pound white man in his 30s with blond hair, a silver tooth and a 1-inch scar on his cheek.

Police searched for the man while the campus was locked down for several hours. Parents arriving to pick up their children later in the day were notified of the incident. School officials could not be reached for comment Monday.

The girl was treated at a hospital for minor injuries. Police would not comment on how she got them. No one was arrested or interviewed, Worrall said.