Queen Creek police charge woman suspected of making false attack claim

Updated to include suspect's name.

The Queen Creek Police Department announced Thursday that it has arrested a woman for allegedly making a false report to officers by claiming that she had been attacked while jogging near Crismon and Riggs roads.

When officers responded to a call from the Queen Creek Fire & Medical Department station at 20678 E. Civic Parkway during the early morning hours of Sunday, May 5, the woman, identified by QCPD as Megan Campbell, 39, claimed she had been attacked.

“Upon arrival, (police) were informed by fire/medical staff that a female subject had driven to the location to report an attack that allegedly happened 15-30 minutes prior in an area near Crismon and Riggs Road,” a QCPD press release stated. “This complainant later recounted that she had been running on a trail in the area when she was suddenly attacked from behind and rendered unconscious. She explained that sometime during the encounter, she was injured, receiving a laceration on her neck.”

Police allege Campbell became “uncommunicative” early in the investigation, eventually saying she would no longer participate in the investigation, the release stated.

During their investigation, detectives discovered a “significant pattern of inconsistencies.”

“Much of the evidence gathered directly contradicted the complainant’s account of the attack. Eventually, detectives concluded that the facts about the reported attack, as provided by the complainant, were completely unfounded,” the release stated.

QCPD also stated that investigators found that the circumstances of the alleged attack, as well as other prior incidents, showed a pattern of “harassment targeting another individual who had a previous relationship with the complainant.”

Based on the investigation’s findings, QCPD took Campbell into custody on Thursday on charges of identity theft, false reporting and harassment (domestic violence). Police will be forwarding the case to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

“The acts perpetrated by this person not only harassed another individual but tied up police resources that could have been deployed for a better purpose,” Queen Creek Police Chief Randy Brice stated in the release. “Unfortunately, this false report has created fear of a crime that never occurred.”