Heidi Jones WABC

New York City television station WABC-TV has suspended weather woman Heidi Jones after news surfaced that she filed a false police report alleging that she was the victim of an attempted rape.

According to the a news source, Jones went to police at Manhattan's Sixth Precinct on Nov. 24 to report that she had been attacked in late September by a Hispanic man while she was jogging in Central Park. Jones claimed that the man dragged her away from the jogging path and tried to rape her but was scared off by passersby. Jones alleged that the same man approached and threatened her near her apartment building in late November, three days before she reported either incident to the police.
A source for the Daily News says that in Jones' reports, "She tries to paint the picture of a stalker, but things don't add up. We're thinking, 'She doesn't want there to be any witnesses we can talk to, so she's as vague as possible.'"

The source says that Jones fessed up to inventing the attacks, citing a desire to gain "sympathy" due to her struggles with "personal and professional pressure." Sources say that Jones was having relationship problems and that she was "deeply unhappy, personally and professionally."

Jones, who has been part of the WABC news team since 2005 and also fills in on 'Good Morning America,' is described as "a nice girl" by one co-worker, although others were openly outraged over the forecaster's claims.

"All this trust we had is shattered. We're like a family. We feel betrayed," a WABC source tells the Post.

Upon getting wind of the alleged attacks, WABC staffers had rallied around their co-worker "to the point that security guards would offer to escort her home," says the Post source.

Jones' lawyer, Paul Callan, says of his client, "Ms. Jones has had a distinguished career as a broadcast journalist and urges all concerned to refrain from jumping to conclusions about the unproven charges against her being discussed in the press," adding that Jones will enter a not guilty plea.

 

Source: http://www.popeater.com/2010/12/16/heidi-jones-attempted-rape-lie/