rseaborn@pickenssentinel.com

CLEMSON - The Clemson University student who claimed that she had been raped on campus recanted her story last week.

Krutika Nitin Mediwala, 18, a sophomore majoring in genetics, was charged Thursday with filing false police documents and has been released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, said Clemson University Police Chief Johnson Link.

Mediwala's first statement to police said that while she was in a student parking lot at about 2 a.m. on Jan. 11, two men sexually assaulted her and then fled in a dark colored SUV when the school's emergency storm alert system sounded.

Last week, she withdrew those claims, he said.

Link said he fears that by charging Mediwala with falsifying police documents, someone in the future with a legitimate claim may be hesitant to contact police.

"The last thing I want to come out of this is for someone who needs to report something not to because they read about an incident like this and are afraid," Link said. "When we receive a report that something happened, we investigate and we believe anyone who files a report. We investigate every incident."

However, following a thorough investigation, and when the statements in the report fail to coincide with the evidence of the case, charges of falsifying police documents may be filed, he said.

"It really concerns me that there are those people who are truly victimized and who may not report the incident to law enforcement," Link said. "We want to stop any assaults occurring on campus."

Link said there were no indications as to why Mediwala filed a false police incident report.

She has submitted a written apology to law enforcement, Link said.

Mediwala was charged on a felony level of filing a false police report and could receive a sentence of up to five years in prison, Link said.