16-year-old girl suspected of theft reports rape

Officers from the Bloomington Police Department were dispatched to the south side of Bloomington at about 3:12 a.m. Sunday after a 16-year-old girl reported she was raped.
However, BPD Sgt. Lucas Tate said the girl was allegedly lying to police to cover up a theft of an undisclosed amount of alcohol from a CVS/Pharmacy.

During her initial report to police, the girl said three white males pulled up next to her in a blue car in a parking lot near Winslow Road. One of the males reached out of the car and pulled her inside, Tate said the girl told police.

She allegedly told police she did not believe the car drove far, but she was no longer aware of her location. Then, she told police, she was raped.

Tate said she reported the rape after she returned home and her family noticed she was acting strange.

Tate said the BPD later determined she had been intoxicated.

The blue car was involved, Tate said. However, he said the individuals inside the car were the girl’s acquaintances. Security camera footage shows the girl entered the vehicle willfully, Tate said.

He also said BPD is still investigating whether a sexual assault did occur. The girl was referred to juvenile probation for reporting false information to police.

—Mark Keierleber