Punishment for False Claims

I have been peripherally following the case of the rugby individual who allegedly attacked the girl outside her home.

I took note of the reported circumstances, then the history of the father and the family involved and made a mental note that if the DNA came back negative then, given the history that the father and daughter may have colluded to get money from a well known athlete.

At the same time I condemn the culture that says "lets all get wasted by drinking" that seems to pervade some of our sports groups. The tests came back as negative.

Leaving this case alone until further information comes in it raises the issue of false claims and how those making them should be treated. In cases where those making the claim are found to have deliberately made up a story, e.,g. in the case of rape, those making the claims should be given a sentence, and not a suspended one, equivalent to what the accused would have faced if they had committed the crime.

At the moment feral families and individuals are free to make all kinds of claims and are allowed to get away with it. It doesn't matter what reputations are destroyed or how much it costs those defending themselves. In some cases the process has been formalised like in Victoria and soon in South Australia where a commission can take a case, give the accuser all the support and the accused, even when found innocent can get nothing back. This is a very dangerous situation and one becoming more common in Australia.

So to stop all of this and ensure that those making the claim are serious about them, make the punishment for false ones real. False claims of rape, sentenced as a rapist when found to be false. I don;t mean some idiot jury letting a rapist off, I mean where there is direct evidence of false claims by those involved.