United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

JURY CONVICTS WOMAN WHO FALSELY ACCUSED
DPS TROOPER OF VIOLATING HER CIVIL RIGHTS

AMARILLO, Tx.— A federal jury in Amarillo has convicted Kristina Marie Sheppard, of Canyon, Texas, on one count of making false statements, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Sheppard, 31, faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. She is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson on October 10, 2007.

The government presented evidence at trial that on February 12, 2007, Sheppard knowingly and intentionally made false, fraudulent and fictitious material statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by stating that Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Trooper Corey Kernell violated her civil rights by falsely arresting her for driving while intoxicated, driving her to a secluded road before she was taken to jail, and making sexually suggestive remarks leading her to believe that she was about to be sexually assaulted by the Trooper, knowing all those allegations were false.

The FBI’s investigation revealed that Sheppard was stopped by DPS Trooper Corey Kernell on February 3, 2007, at 2:46 a.m., on Interstate 27 near Plainview, Texas. She was driving a pickup truck with three male passengers. The Trooper arrested Sheppard for Driving While Intoxicated, released the truck to a sober passenger, and drove Sheppard to the Hale County Jail.

On February 12, 2007, Sheppard called the FBI office in Amarillo and reported that she had been falsely arrested by a DPS Trooper who had driven her to a secluded road where “she prayed to God” that she wouldn’t be harmed before being taken to jail. She stated that the Trooper was making sexually suggestive remarks and that she felt she was about to be raped.

Following the telephone call, FBI agents met with Sheppard in person at her home where she repeated the same allegations.
The entire traffic stop, investigation, arrest and transportation to the Hale County jail was recorded on audio and video, which the government offered into evidence at trial. The recordings clearly showed that the Trooper did not make inappropriate remarks to Sheppard and did not deviate from Interstate 40, until his arrival in Plainview. Sheppard’s statements were entirely false.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy L. Drake, of the Amarillo, Texas, U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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