Why some women lie about rape: it sounds insane, but there are females who falsely claim they've been sexually assaulted. A former sex-crimes prosecutor explores this troubling phenomenon.(Hot Topics)

Last year, during one of the final cases I handled as the head of the sex-crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office, I found myself in the familiar situation of being on the phone with a woman who was in tears. Several days earlier, this woman, who was in her early 20s and working in Boston, had reported to the dean's office of Columbia University in New York City that site had been raped months earlier by a grad student at the school. I called to invite her to my office to press charges, but she refused to make an appointment.

While her reluctance wasn't unusual--many rape victims are unsure how to proceed after such a traumatic event--the way her ...