Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

Looks like the bizarre saga of former WABC meteorologist Heidi Jones has finally come to a conclusion.

Jones, who filed two police reports last year claiming to be the victim of an attempted rape in Central Park and in front of her apartment(previous coverage here, here, and here) was sentenced last week.

CBS New York has the details — Jones received three years probation and must perform 350 hours of community service. She was also ordered to seek psychiatric counseling.

She had faced up to a year in prison.

Huffington Post has a recap of some of the details:

Jones went to police on Dec. 1, 2010, and told them that a Hispanic man attacked her while she was jogging.

“I was attacked in Central Park on Sept. 24, 2010, at approximately 1 p.m. and I was also attacked on Nov. 21, 2010, outside of my home at approximately 7:30 a.m.,” Jones said, according to court documents.

But Jones’ story had inconsistencies, and she later admitted making the whole thing up, police said.

“I did make this up. I made it up for attention,” Jones told police on Dec. 13, 2010, according to the criminal complaint. “I have so much stress at work, with my personal life and with my family. I know there is no justification for it.”

If you’re looking for a break from your day, Fox News actually devoted 6 minutes and 23 seconds of video to this ridiculous story. I couldn’t bring myself to watch more than the first 20 seconds, so I’m not exactly sure what they talk about (link via Huffington Post).

Filed under: Celebrities, Central Park, Crime, Manhattan, New York City, News, NYC, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog, Upper West Side Oddities, UWS 2 Comments »
Tags: Crime, Heidi Jones, Meteorologist, New York City, NYC, NYPD, Police, Rape, rape hoax, Upper West Side, UWS