Woman said she was tied up and raped. Then Florida cops discovered something ‘disheartening’
.jpg "A South Dakota woman was charged for falsely claiming she was blindfolded, tied up and then sexually assaulted in a car while in Florida.")
A South Dakota woman recounted a harrowing crime to Florida 911 operators through tears last week — saying she was shoved in the back of a car, tied up and raped.
Deputies quickly moved to find an alleged rapist but soon learned the woman was lying, authorities said. She’s now looking at jail time for taking advantage of law enforcement.
“This case is truly disheartening,” Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff Chad Chronister said. ”There are far too many victims faced with this type of trauma. This woman took advantage of our 911 emergency line and diverted attention from actual victims who need the viable resources available in these investigative scenarios.”
Renee Dawn Skoglund, a 30-year-old from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, faces charges of misuse of a 911 system, false report of a crime, and fabricating physical evidence. She was arrested Monday and remains in a South Dakota jail, awaiting extradition to Florida.
On March 8, Skoglund called 911 and told Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies about the alleged sexual assault. While on Interstate 75, she thought she heard a noise coming from her rental car, like a flat tire, and pulled over to check.
That’s when a dark car stopped behind her and an unidentified man got out, she told the operator in the 911 call. Allegedly, the man shoved her in the back of the rental car, blindfolded her, tied rope around her hands and feet — then raped her.
Deputies found the rope in the area she mentioned and learned it was sold at Walmart. After going to several Walmart stores, detectives found video of Skoglund buying the rope eight hours before the attack.
After this discovery, detectives found more video of Skoglund in different places around the time of the attack, refuting her initial statements, deputies said.
When Skoglund returned to South Dakota, she also reported the rape to Sioux Falls Police Department to get medical attention. Authorities told her what they found in their investigation and deputies say she eventually confessed to fabricating the whole crime.
“We are committed to dedicating significant resources to investigating any crime. I’m outraged by this lie, and I hope that anyone who believes it’s okay to falsify a report realizes the severity of their actions,” Chronister said. “I’d like to thank the Sioux Falls Police department and the State Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this case.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2023 at 6:18 PM.
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