A Michigan woman who lied about being raped on her college campus was sentenced to jail time on Monday.
Mary Zolkowski, 21, was sentenced to 45 days in jail after pleading guilty to fabricating a story about being sexually assaulted in a parking lot at Delta College in Bay County, MLive.com reported.
Judge Joseph Sheeran, who also ordered the woman receive a mental health assessment, did not give Zolwolski credit for previous time served.
Sheeran deferred the woman to an additional 220 days in jail, which she’ll only have to serve if she violates probation, according to the news outlet. She will be on probation for two years after her jail term. Zolwolski will also have to be tested for drugs and alcohol and partake in substance abuse counseling.
In March, Zolwolski reportedly admitted to making up the alleged rape, telling the judge: “I called Delta College and falsely reported the rape on their campus. My mother made the initial call and I took the phone and continued to report.”
The woman told her mother she had been raped in a back parking lot but never named any suspects. She said that she was “assaulted previously, not at Delta’s campus,” and “was ashamed of the circumstances of that.”
Zolkowski initially gave contradicting accounts of what she claimed happened at the school.
She reportedly told police she was walking to her car when a man grabbed her from behind and raped her without a condom while holding her face and throat, and said she only saw the man’s hands and he fled in a car before she could see his face.
Zolkowski refused a physical exam after the alleged incident, the news outlet reported in August 2017.
When investigators met with her a second time, Zolkowski reportedly said the suspect was an acquaintance and she had been raped at an apartment.
The student at the time apologized for her confusion, adding she didn’t want to press charges. In a third interview with police, Zolkowski reportedly changed her story again — telling police she wanted to tell the suspect to stop during sex, but it ended before she was able to do so.
Zolkowski, who pleaded guilty to making a false report of a felony, faced up to four years in prison and a $2,000 fine.
