A man who made false allegations of rape against five men because he claimed to be lonely has been jailed.

Darren Moore, 55, reported 14 rape or sexual assault allegations to police between June and November 2022.

He consistently provided false information during five separate victim interviews and attended five forensic medical examinations.

As a result, several of the alleged suspects were interviewed under caution.

However, further investigation revealed Moore’s consistently vague and contradictory allegations were not plausible.

His claims followed a similar storyline - in that he would invite men back to his home, they would exchange explicit messages on an online dating app, before they raped or sexually assaulted him.

Moore, of Douglas Court, Ely, was arrested for perverting the course of justice on November 10 2022 and admitted the 14 allegations were all false.

In police interview he told officers he had made the allegations because he was lonely.

He was charged with five counts of perverting the course of justice, which he admitted at Cambridge Crown Court in February.

He was sentenced at the same court on Thursday (11 April) where he was handed a total of three years in prison.

Detective Inspector Mike Minett, who investigated, said: “Making false allegations in this way is despicable and has a huge impact on the people who are accused.

“One of the victims has been left feeling suicidal, has panic attacks and struggles to sleep. Another told how he has lost all trust in other people.

"I hope this case brings all of Moore’s victims some level of closure and allows them to move on. 

“His actions wasted the time and resources of the police and other support services available for victims of sexual offences.

“The sentence reflects just how severely both the police and the courts take false allegations, especially of this nature.”