{"id":41600,"date":"2020-02-25T20:53:10","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T20:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/02\/25\/woman-pleads-guilty-to-lying-to-ncis-about-rape\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:39:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:39:48","slug":"woman-pleads-guilty-to-lying-to-ncis-about-rape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/02\/25\/woman-pleads-guilty-to-lying-to-ncis-about-rape\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman pleads guilty to lying to NCIS about rape"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Virginia woman who accused a sailor of raping her has now admitted the rape never occurred, according to a recent court filing and a U.S. Department of Justice statement. She accused him of the crime in case her \u201csignificant other\u201d found out about their affair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Jan. 22, federal prosecutors charged Miranda Overton, 21, of Chesapeake, with one count of making a false statement to an agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lone count stemmed from her July 2, 2018, interview with a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent at the Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center<\/a> in Norfolk, where the civilian woman claimed a sailor had raped and sodomized her at Naval Station Norfolk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, she knew \u201cshe had consensual sex\u201d with him, according to the criminal complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Feb. 11 court filing revealed she asked a federal judge to accept her guilty plea. In a prepared statement released Tuesday<\/a>, DOJ officials said that her plea has been accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the DOJ, agents confronted the sailor about Overton\u2019s allegations and he explained that they hooked up through an online dating application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investigators obtained surveillance footage that caught Overton and the sailor kissing in the elevator immediately before the alleged assault. NCIS also reviewed the statement she made during her sexual assault forensic examination where she conceded they agreed to engage in intercourse, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a second interview, Overton recanted her accusation, admitted that she \u201chad made another false allegation in the past\u201d and confessed that she lied to NCIS \u201cout of fear that her significant other would end their relationship\u201d if that person learned about the sailor, according to the DOJ statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overton is slated for sentencing on June 3. She faces a maximum penalty of five years behind bars, although most sentences fall short of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her attorney, federal public defender Kirsten Kmet, told Navy Times on Wednesday that office policy barred her from commenting on Overton\u2019s case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overton was not placed into pretrial confinement, according to court records.<\/p>\n\n\n\t