A woman who falsely accused ten men of raping her has had her prison sentence increased from four-and-a-half to seven years after the Court of Appeal ruled the original term "unduly lenient." Stacey Sharples, 31, from Farnworth in Bolton, met the men in Greater Manchester via Facebook and dating apps Plenty of Fish and Badoo between 2013 and 2019, when she was aged 18 to 24. Her false reports led to men being detained in custody, losing jobs and relationships, and being separated from their children, and the case has drawn attention for highlighting the damage false rape allegations can cause both to individual victims and to public trust in genuine reports.

Sharples admitted ten counts of perverting the course of justice at Bolton Crown Court in March. The Attorney General referred the case to the Court of Appeal, where judges heard that roughly 264 hours of police time and about £50,000 had been wasted investigating her claims, which contained numerous inconsistencies. One victim, Kaylum Davis, was just 16 when first accused and spent 18 months on bail; he had branded the original sentence "a joke." The court was told Sharples "bombarded" the men with declarations of love and reported them for rape when they failed to reciprocate, with the sentencing judge previously describing her as a "sexual predator."