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Did she lie because she needed
to create another stage? Why was she
desperate enough to lie to co-workers and police to
gain attention? The
women's movement taught her to push relentlessly. It failed to teach
her that it is admirable to pause, gain experience, then grow into
the next position.
No one earns non-stop promotion
and no deserves constant attention. |
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For
months, weather lady Heidi Jones had lied to sympathetic colleagues
at New York's WABC/Channel 7. Colleagues believed her when she told
them that she had been attacked and nearly raped while jogging in
Central Park. |
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Yesterday, compassion for her turned
to rage when staffers at the TV station learned that Jones had been
lying all along. |
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"It was an outrageous lie," said a
fuming WABC staffer, who like others were "flabbergasted" to learn
of the deception by reading about it in The New York Post. |
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"All this trust we had is shattered.
We're like a family. We feel betrayed... It had become "common
knowledge" around the newsroom that Jones claimed to have been
attacked in late September", a source stated. |
Defending Jones was her
mother. She claimed Jones never used the word "rape" when
she described the alleged attack to police. "I have no
comment. I do know that the word 'rape' was never used,"
said Heidi's mom.
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Police sources stated that
Jones admitted to have filed a false report because she
suffered from "personal and professional pressures" and
wanted to gain "sympathy" over an undisclosed personal
issue.
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Anchor Lori Stokes covered
Jones' arrest as a regular news story.
|
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Stokes reported that "WABC suspended
Jones pending the outcome of an internal investigation". |
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Jones' lawyer, Paul Callan, said his
client will plead not guilty. He added, "Ms. Jones has had a
distinguished career as a broadcast journalist and urges all
concerned to refrain from jumping to conclusions about the unproven
charges against her being discussed in the press". |
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Nearly two months after the alleged
attack, Jones told cops she was jogging in Central Park on September
24. She claimed that a Hispanic man in his 30s or 40s grabbed her
from behind, dragged her into a wooded area, and attempted to rape
her. She claimed to have been released when two passers-by appeared. |
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Jones also claimed that the same man
approached her on November 21 and threatened her. |
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Sources said that New York police
questioned the validity of the claim almost immediately. |