A Florida woman falsely accused a sheriff’s deputy of raping her earlier this year during a shoplifting arrest, police said.
Marley Barberian, 23, from West Palm Beach, was arrested for making a false report of sexual battery, false report of a crime, and perjury after claiming that a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy anally raped her on the way to jail from the Greenacres Police Department last January, reported the Palm Beach Post.
Police booked Barberian last Thursday after determining that she lied about the attack.
Barberian — who faces up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine — was released from Palm Beach County Jail on Saturday on a $3,000 bond.
Following her shoplifting arrest at a Target on Jan. 9, Barberian said a 55-year-old white male deputy, who was not named, stopped his police car while taking her to jail, put a gun in her mouth “because that probably turned him on,” then anally raped her, according to a report filed at the time.
Barberian also claimed she was groped by an officer while getting patted down at the Target, but it was not immediately clear if it was the same deputy she accused of rape.
During an investigation of Barberian’s claims, a male deputy said that a woman patted Barberian down at the Target, not a man, and that the accused did not touch her inappropriately. That same deputy said that while the accused officer drove Barberian to Green Acres Police Station, a female deputy — not the accused officer — drove her to the Palm Beach County Jail, CBS 12 reported.
Evidence backs up the deputy’s claims. Dashcam video reportedly shows that the police car made no stops on the way to the jail, and surveillance video shows a female deputy driving the police car and later escorting Barberian to jail.
Security cameras from the Target show two deputies, including the accused officer, walking Barberian out of the store during her arrest. Barberian can be seen slapping the accused deputy in the mouth before he pulls her to the ground and handcuffs her. Footage reveals no evidence of any molestation, and a “use of force” report said the deputy’s take-down of Barberian during the arrest was justified because she physically assaulted him.
On June 19, a judge convicted Barberian of stealing items from Target totaling $68.75. She was also convicted of resisting arrest with violence, battery of an officer and trespassing. She was sentenced to two years of probation.
A spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office was not immediately available for comment.