North Port teen faces charges after police say she falsely reported sexual assault for attention

A 15-year-old North Port Girl has been arrested and now faces charges after police say she falsely reported a sexual assault.

Last week, the North Port Police Department was searching for a man who was said to have sexually assaulted the 15-year-old while she was jogging near her home.

According to an arrest warrant, police say the girl told them a man had pushed her down, raped her, stole her blue underwear and fled in a black four-door Ford car.

The girl was taken to the North Port emergency room for the completion of a sexual assault kit. A nurse reported that there were no internal or external injuries found during her examination.

The girl was forensically interviewed at the Child Protective Center and, the next day, a police sketch was released and an investigation ensued.

Soon after, the girl reported another crime, which caused great concern to the city and countless hours were spent investigating. The girl said she had opened her front lanai screen door to let out her dog when an unknown male made contact with her and pushed her down inside her lanai and ran off. She said the next thing she remembered was waking up to her best friend calling emergency services.

According to the city, the girl admitted she made a false report and investigators determined she did it to seek attention.

The City of North Port confirmed Wednesday that the girl has been arrested and charged with two counts of false reporting of a crime to police; one count for the initial report and one for a second fake report of an assault days later.