Denison woman who made up rape, kidnapping story sentenced to probation

The Denison woman who pleaded guilty to making up a story that three black men kidnapped and raped her last year was sentenced to 8 years probation, over $8,000 in restitution, and to pay another $2,000 in court fines on Tuesday.

Breana Harmon, 19, pleaded guilty to two counts tampering with evidence and two counts of tampering with a government record in Grayson County district court last month.

The charges came after an investigation in March of 2017 when Harmon reported to Denison police that she had been abducted and sexually assaulted by three black men.

After the investigation, Denison police determined that no offense had been committed and that Harmon had falsified her report to law enforcement.

Three of the charges Harmon faced were third degree felonies. She faced up to 2-10 years in prison along with a $10,000 fine. The fourth charge was a state jail felony, punishable by up to 2 years in state jail and a $10,000 fine.

Some locals who heard the sentence thought it could have been much harsher.

Denison police said they take these sort of false claims very seriously.

“We want everyone to realize there are consequences if a false report is made, and we hope this serves as a reminder to people that this is an example of what could happen,” said Denison Police Lt. Mike Eppler.