A 15-year-old Ostrander teenager will not be charged for giving a false report of a sexual assault at Pacelli High School.

Wednesday, October 20, 1999

A 15-year-old Ostrander teenager will not be charged for giving a false report of a sexual assault at Pacelli High School.

The Mower County Attorney’s office investigated the incident and decided against charging the teenager.

Instead, she has issued a public apology to the city of Austin and a personal apology to Pacelli High School.

In addition, she has written a letter of apology to a male student at Pacelli High School, who matched the description she gave of her alleged assailant.

Austin Police Chief Paul M. Philipp announced the events today. However, Philipp acknowledged, he is not certain the teenager should not have been charged.

When the teenager recanted her story of a sexual assault at Pacelli High School, Philipp said such occurrences are frustrating for law enforcement, because they could inhibit other victims of real sex crimes in coming forward.

The teenager’s public apology comes in the form of a letter circulated today to local media. The letter reads: "I am sorry that I said I was raped at Pacelli High School and gave your town a bad name. I know I have hurt many people and I apologize deeply. I should not have done this and was thinking of myself only. I handled it very poorly and I should have been more honest. I am very sorry and regret hurting so many people. I realize that what I have done is very wrong and apologize to everyone. I pray to the Lord that He will find a way to forgive me and guide me in the right way. My sincere apologies."

The teenager first told authorities she was raped at Pacelli High School Oct. 9, after she arrived at the school for a volleyball match with her LeRoy-Ostrander High School teammates.

She alleged the attack occurred in a downstairs storage room at PHS and when interviewed gave a detailed description of the incident, including a description of her assailant, that resulted in at least one male PHS student becoming a suspect because he matched the teenager’s description.

Three days after the alleged attack, the teenager recanted the story saying everything she had said was false. She said she concocted the story to cover-up the possibility of being pregnant after admitting to having sexual relations with a male acquaintance.