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'Runaway bride' charged with making false statement
LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia (CNN) -- Jennifer Wilbanks, the Georgia woman who fled the state and faked her own kidnapping and sexual assault before her wedding, was indicted Wednesday by a grand jury, the Gwinnett County district attorney said.
Wilbanks, 32, is charged with one count of making false statements, a felony punishable by five years in prison, and one count of making a false report of a crime, a misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail, District Attorney Danny Porter said.
"We believe that the grand jury made the appropriate decision," he said at a news conference.
"At this point, the next step in the process would be the issuance of the bench warrant for her arrest," Porter said. "I feel confident that arrangements can be made for her to turn herself in, and then we will take the next step from there."
The medical assistant from the Atlanta suburb of Duluth, had been scheduled to marry in April at a lavishly planned wedding including 600 guests and 28 attendants. Just days before the ceremony, she disappeared, prompting a massive, three-day search that local authorities said cost thousands of dollars.
Eventually Wilbanks called authorities from a pay phone in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and said two people had abducted her, then recanted her story during questioning by the FBI and police.
Albuquerque police have said they will not file charges.
Duluth Mayor Shirley Lasseter said the jurors surprised her.
"I think I was a little stunned they went for both the felony as well as the misdemeanor," Lasseter said. "But we don't underestimate the grand jury. They are very thorough and do what they believe is to be justice."
Local authorities are negotiating a possible settlement with Wilbanks' attorneys over the cost of the search for her. The mayor said officials are asking for $43,000. Wilbanks' attorneys "have countered back with $13,000 plus, which actually covers the overtime hours and out-of-pocket expense for food and clothing -- or food and gas and things like that," Lasseter said.
LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia (CNN) -- Jennifer Wilbanks, the Georgia woman who fled the state and faked her own kidnapping and sexual assault before her wedding, was indicted Wednesday by a grand jury, the Gwinnett County district attorney said.
Wilbanks, 32, is charged with one count of making false statements, a felony punishable by five years in prison, and one count of making a false report of a crime, a misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail, District Attorney Danny Porter said.
"We believe that the grand jury made the appropriate decision," he said at a news conference.
"At this point, the next step in the process would be the issuance of the bench warrant for her arrest," Porter said. "I feel confident that arrangements can be made for her to turn herself in, and then we will take the next step from there."
The medical assistant from the Atlanta suburb of Duluth, had been scheduled to marry in April at a lavishly planned wedding including 600 guests and 28 attendants. Just days before the ceremony, she disappeared, prompting a massive, three-day search that local authorities said cost thousands of dollars.
Eventually Wilbanks called authorities from a pay phone in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and said two people had abducted her, then recanted her story during questioning by the FBI and police.
Albuquerque police have said they will not file charges.
Duluth Mayor Shirley Lasseter said the jurors surprised her.
"I think I was a little stunned they went for both the felony as well as the misdemeanor," Lasseter said. "But we don't underestimate the grand jury. They are very thorough and do what they believe is to be justice."
Local authorities are negotiating a possible settlement with Wilbanks' attorneys over the cost of the search for her. The mayor said officials are asking for $43,000. Wilbanks' attorneys "have countered back with $13,000 plus, which actually covers the overtime hours and out-of-pocket expense for food and clothing -- or food and gas and things like that," Lasseter said.
