A Bristol Township woman was sentenced to jail Tuesday for fabricating a story that she was attacked, which led to the wrongful imprisonment of an innocent man.
Anjela Borisova Urumova, 20, was sentenced Tuesday to 45 days to 23 months in Bucks County Correctional Facility for fabricating an attempted rape and kidnapping claim that led to the wrongful imprisonment of a Yardley man. Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Stephen Corr ordered Urumova to have no contact with Pierson, serve a year of probation, undergo a mental health evaluation, and pay $3,600 in restitution to Pierson for legal costs.
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Last month, Urumova pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanor charges, including false alarms to public safety, tampering with physical evidence, making false reports, and unsworn falsification to authorities.
The case began on April 16, 2024, when Urumova reported being attacked in the parking lot of Redner’s Fresh Market in the Langhorne Square Shopping Center in Middletown Township.
The young woman’s false report led to the arrest of Daniel Pierson on serious felony charges. The case was widely covered by regional news outlets.
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Pierson endured 31 days of wrongful incarceration before investigators uncovered inconsistencies in Urumova’s story.
Middletown Township police and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office reviewed surveillance footage and Urumova’s cellphone data. Their findings revealed no evidence of the alleged attack.
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When confronted with the evidence, Urumova confessed to fabricating the incident. She admitted that she had found Pierson to be “creepy” and had seen his truck at the shopping center when she worked there in the past, authorities said.
“You took a lot from him and his family,” Judge Corr stated. “And you had the opportunity to tell the truth and you didn’t.”
The judge expressed empathy for the Pierson family.
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“I can’t imagine the trauma that this family went through,” he said.
The judge stated he couldn’t express the “anger he feels” over an innocent person being wrongly incarcerated.
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“How do you defend yourself from something you didn’t do?” he asked, looking at Pierson directly.
Pierson, who declined to speak at the sentencing and didn’t wish to be interviewed after, was described by prosecutors as being deeply affected by the incident. His mugshot was widely circulated in news outlets, and his children witnessed his arrest before Urumova’s scheme was revealed.
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Prosecutors stated that the incident caused Pierson to have trouble at his job due to attention from the case.
Urumova’s attorney, Ethan Paraboschi, attributed his client’s actions to stress and an abusive relationship. He acknowledged her handling of the situation was “not great” but pointed to her efforts toward self-improvement.
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The defense attorney requested probation for his client.
Prosecutors sought a jail sentence exceeding state guidelines for the charges.
Paraboschi argued for “rehabilitation, rather than retribution” and later expressed disappointment in the jail sentence, but he acknowledged the judge’s reasoning.
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Corr said that the jail time was a just punishment for the loss of Pierson’s freedom, not an act of revenge.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristin McElroy highlighted the broader impact of Urumova’s false report, stating that it could deter genuine victims of sexual assault from coming forward.
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“Cases like this are rare, but they can have a potential chilling effect” on real victims, McElroy said.
Urumova’s mother testified that her daughter was a loving woman working towards a college degree.
Urumova herself addressed the court, tearfully admitting she was “young, scared, and insecure” when she “made the worst mistake of her life.”
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Urumova expressed remorse for the pain she inflicted on Pierson and his family, as well as her own.
“I caused so much pain on a family and also my own,” she said.
“It’s OK to not be OK, but it’s not OK to make someone else not OK,” she added, stating she is receiving help and pursuing a medical degree.
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The woman also told the court, despite what some might think, that she did not become pregnant to avoid jail time.
Urumova, who is pregnant and due to give birth in the coming months, was taken into custody by Bucks County Sheriff’s deputies after the sentence was handed down.
As the mother-to-be was headed to the county lockup, her mother and boyfriend were visibly emotional. Her father comforted his wife as Urumova left the courtroom in handcuffs.
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