Lower Merion Township Woman Arrested After False Allegations Against Police

Jericka Duncan reports...

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) - Back in May, we protected the identity of 26-year-old Gabrielle Drexler of Bryn Mawr. Now, authorities are exposing her identity and her story.

Last spring, Drexler appeared before the Lower Merion Township Board of Commissioners, claiming she had been groped and harassed by one township officer and "illegally detained" by another.

"She looked distraught, she looked like something had happened and many, no doubt, believed something must have happened, " said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.

After a six month investigation, the District Attorney's Office announced that a grand jury found what happened had more to do with revenge and retaliation.

"Ms. Drexler had a relationship, a romantic relationship, with a police officer," said Ferman. "She found out he was married and a father. She became angry."

Prosecutors say Drexler provided them with emails to prove she had been groped and harassed by Officer Michael John, who's been with the Lower Merion Township Police Department for 21 years.

"It was a forensic search of her computer that yielded the information we needed to prove that, in fact, the emails were false," said Ferman.

Officer John, who admitted to having a romantic relationship with Drexler, met her in the spring of 2010 while responding to a 911 call at Drexler's home.

As for the second officer, Stephen Salera, who allegedly "illegally detained" Drexler, prosecutors say Drexler made that story up too.

"The grand jurors found nothing happened," said Ferman. "She lied, and now she's arrested."

Drexler was charged with Perjury, Tampering with Evidence, False Reports to Law Enforcement and related offenses.

Reported by Jericka Duncan, CBS3