South Dakota Woman Admits To Making False Rape Report After Cheating On Her Husband

A married woman who was cheating on her husband reportedly admits to making up a story about being raped in order to get a free STD test and avoid bringing any sexually transmitted diseases back to her husband.

Renee Dawn Skoglund, 30, was sentenced to two years on community control and eight years on probation after being found guilty last Monday of charges including 911 system misuse, making a false report of a crime, and fabricating physical evidence.

Skoglund had a consensual one-night stand with a man and then lied about being raped because she felt guilty for cheating on her husband, Hillsborough prosecutor Jessica Couvertier told WTVT.

Couvertier explained that she felt guilty about it because of her marital status, and she wanted to be tested for a sexually transmitted disease.

Skoglund called 911 instead, claiming she had been raped “like 45 minutes ago” because she couldn’t afford an STD test, which is provided for free at the free clinic. Skoglund could be heard sobbing during the 911 call, according to court documents.

Skoglund was visiting the Tampa, Florida, area from South Dakota, according to prosecutors, and claimed she was driving along I-75 but had to pull over due to car trouble. She claimed the attacker blindfolded her and tied her to her rental car with a rope. She claimed to investigators that she couldn’t identify the man because she was blindfolded.

According to court documents, investigators checked the rope that Skoglund claimed was used on her and discovered that Walmart sold the exact same rope. Investigators began looking for clues to see if the attacker had purchased rope in the area.

During the course of their investigation, investigators obtained surveillance footage that contradicted Skoglund’s story. Skoglund was caught buying the rope eight hours before the bogus attack.

Before sentencing Skoglund, Judge Laura Ward stated, “I’ve never sentenced somebody for perjury, but it’s a good reminder to everyone that perjury is a crime and all the stuff you made up and the resources you expended on it could’ve been used, and probably needed to be used, by other cases that were real.”

Skoglund must pay the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office $17,245.26 in restitution for all of the work they had to do investigating her fabricated rape claim, according to Judge Ward.