Heidi Jones (PICTURES): WABC Weather Anchor Says She Never Told Police She Was Raped
NEW YORK (CBS/WCBS) Heidi Jones, the weather anchor for New York's WABC-TV who allegedly filed a phony police report about being stalked and assaulted in Central Park, says she never told police she was the victim of a rape or an attempted rape.
PICTURES: Heidi Jones Arrested
A lawyer for Jones told CBS affiliate WCBS on Friday that the meteorologist never said she was the victim of an attempted rape. The attorney did not clarify what Jones says she told police.
In a statement, the lawyer said that "at no time did [Ms. Jones] ever claim to any law enforcement official that she had been raped or that she was the victim of an attempted rape."
"The characterization of this case as a 'false rape claim' is character assassination directed at a respected broadcast journalist," the statement read.
WCBS, however, has learned that Jones, a dedicated runner, told detectives a man grabbed her as she was running in Central Park, dragged her into some bushes and started spreading her legs apart.
Jones has been suspended indefinitely from WABC-TV pending an internal investigation.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said valuable police resources and time were wasted on the investigation.
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF HEIDI JONES ON CRIMESIDER
