A mother from New Zealand has been ordered to undertake 300
hours of community service after falsely claiming that a girl
competing for a school place with her daughter was a lesbian with a
sexually transmitted disease.
The woman - who cannot be identified - was also ordered by
Queenstown District Court to pay $500 in damages for emotional
stress and attend two years of supervised counseling.
The woman made the claim in order to increase her daughter's
chance of being selected to study at either St Hilda's Collegiate
School or Columba College in Dunedin.
Both are considered elite schools in the district and competition
for entry is fierce.
According to reports, the mother called both schools and pretended
she was a sexual health nurse.
In both calls she attacked the other student, claiming that she
needed treatment for an STD and was in an intimate relationship
with another female.
When school officials became suspicious, they contacted
police.
Seargent Ian Collin told the Otago Daily Times: "There is a very
high demand for limited places at the schools and a board makes a
final decision at the end of the year.
"In an effort to have her daughter accepted ahead of the other
student, the defendant made the fictitious phone calls to both St
Hilda's and Columba College concerning the other student's
behaviour and that of her parents."
