An Ames woman who police say falsely accused an acquaintance of attempted sexual assault had her initial appearance Tuesday in the Story County Justice Center.

Cindy Marie Schuster-Villafane, 19, of 3905 Tripp St. #7, was released from the Story County Jail on zero percent of her $2,000 bond.

Schuster-Villafane was arrested Tuesday morning by ISU Police. She has been charged with filing a false report to a public safety entity.

ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger said the case originated when a woman was stopped for a traffic violation Sept. 9 by the Ames Police Department. The woman told the Ames Police officer she had been involved in an assault on the ISU campus.

Ames Police contacted ISU Police and an investigation into the allegations began.

Deisinger said the woman told police she had been physically restrained and threatened with a sharp object in the University Village parking lot.

“She did have numerous superficial scratches on her body that she claimed were made by this perpetrator,” Deisinger said.

The woman provided several different statements at several different times to police officers and detectives.

“It did not appear that her injuries were consistent with what she reported; however, ISU Police did open a full investigation into her allegations,” Deisinger said.

As investigations continued, he said it became increasingly clear there were inconsistencies in her story.

“Several allegations that she made were demonstratively false,” Deisinger said.

He said the woman provided the first name of the person she said assaulted her and factual details about the individual. Through further police investigations and interviews, police were able to fully identify a potential suspect, and the woman positively identified the individual from a photograph.

ISU Police initially were not able to locate the individual she named in the community, and eventually discovered he had been continuously incarcerated in a Texas jail since Aug. 5.

“As of the time she was charged, he was still in custody. Therefore, there was no way he could have committed the crime,” Deisinger said.

Schuster-Villafane was charged with filing a false report Tuesday and was transported to the Story County Jail. Filing a false report to a public safety entity is a serious misdemeanor under the Iowa Code. If found guilty, Schuster-Villafane could face a fine ranging from $250 to $1,500 and jail time not to exceed one year.

According to court records, Schuster-Villafane’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Oct. 20 in the Story County Justice Center in Nevada.

Annette Boehlje, a public defender, has been appointed to the case. She would not comment on any specific information regarding the case at this time.

Jon Brandon, psychologist for Student Counseling Services, did not comment specifically on this case or the possible motives of the case, but did comment on false reports in general.

“The one thing we know is the vast number of [sexual assault] reports are truthful,” Brandon said.

He said only a small minority of reports are false, and these cases can have a negative impact for those who actually have been assaulted.