A woman who made a false statement to police, causing a prosecution case to derail, has been sentenced to a community corrections order.
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Rosemary Morgan pleaded guilty to one count of perjury at the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Prosecutor Raeleene Maxwell, of the Office of Public Prosecutions, told the court police started investigating theft of copper at stawell on April 23, 2016.
She said police identified the accused as being a witness to the theft and she provided a statement to police.
Ms Maxwell said Morgan attended a Horsham court on May 17, 2016 to give evidence into the copper theft, but she told police her statement was not entirely correct.
“As a result of the accused’s dishonesty, she could not be called for evidence. She was arrested and taken to the police station for interview,” Ms Maxwell said.
“She wasn’t aware of the consequences of making a false statement to police.”
Morgan told police she made the false statement to save the copper theft accused of getting into trouble.
Morgan’s lawyer, who did not want to be named, told the court her client said in her statement two people exited a car in relation to the copper theft, but this was incorrect.
“When she arrived at court she thought she could not give evidence because it wasn’t entirely truthful,” the legal aid lawyer said.
The lawyer told the court it was a serious matter, punishable by up to 15 years in jail. She urged the court to sentence Morgan to a community corrections order or a fine.
Magistrate Ronald Saines told Morgan he he believed her offending was out of character.
Morgan was convicted and sentenced to an 18-month CCO with 150 hours of unpaid community work.