An unidentified man who responded to the second ad- and agreed to beat her in exchange for sex. She then called campus police and told them the story about wandering through the redwood forest near UC-Santa Cruz, looking for the banana slugs that serve as the school mascot. 'After an extensive investigation it became apparent that the majority of the information that Ms. Triplett gave the officers was not in fact true,' assistant district attorney Johanna Schonfield told local station KSBW. 'They had sex and afterwards she used a cellphone screen reflection as a mirror to see if the injuries were bad enough. (Triplett) then directed him to hit her some more.'
At court on Friday, where Triplett entered a not guilty plea on the charge of falsifying a police report, Ms Schonfield said that the 20-year-old is depressed and seeking medical treatment for mental issues. 'She was suicidal and she wanted something to bring her back to reality,' Ms Schonfield said.
According to the local Patch, Triplett posted two ads to Craigslist on February 15, the day prior to attending the UCSC conference. The first ad called for someone to shoot her in the shoulder with a small caliber gun. The second wanted someone to punch, kick and bruise her. Both situations would be done in exchange for sex, and she wrote 'no charges would be filed' against anyone who responded.
'The second ad, which ultimately was the one responded to, was seeking someone with a strong hand to inflict punches, bruises and kicks and compensation was to be provided with sex,' Ms Schonfeld said outside court. 'Several people responded to the ad. 'She was suicidal and she wanted something to bring her back to reality.'
Triplett appeared at court on Friday alongside her father who tried to block cameras from taking her picture. 'Right now I just want this to settle down. I’m trying to move on with my life,' she said. If found guilty, she may face up to six months in jail for falsifying a police report, as well as paying restitution for the dozens of manhours that police had to use in the ten days following her rape report before realizing it was a lie. Her father said that the case is being mis-characterized, and though he did not elaborate on the details, he said that there are 'two sides to every story.'
'Morgan asked for some trouble, but she did not ask to be sexually assaulted,' Richard Triplett told the local newspaper, The Register Pajaronian. 'What we're dealing with is a very scared, very upset, very confused 20-year-old girl who has made some poor choices. This is the culmination of those choices.'