Woman Burned House Down To Frame Her Ex Boyfriend

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A Calgary woman who tried to frame her ex-boyfriend by claiming he was an abuser, a stalker and an arsonist is now behind bars.

Court heard that 24-year-old Jessica Rogers was on a mission to destroy his reputation, and that she wrote letters, emails and texts.

She even used an app on her phone to make it look like texts came from her ex’s phone.

In July 2011, Rogers told police her former boyfriend burned her mother’s house down. The fire damaged two homes on either side.

“[He] was stalking me, following me from here to work, work to home,” she said in an interview after the fire.

“Then it was emails sent to work, then phone calls repeatedly.”

Her ex was arrested and charged, but it turns out Rogers made up the entire story.

“This was an interesting case,” Crown prosecutor Darren Maloney said Friday after Rogers was sentenced.

“It had the technology aspect, which poses difficulty for the Crown and police.”

Charges against the ex-boyfriend were eventually dropped, and Rogers pleaded guilty to criminal harassment and public mischief.

“These are very serious cases, especially public mischief, false allegations against individuals,” Maloney added. “They are treated very seriously.”

During a psychological assessment, Rogers told her doctor, “I was so busy trying to create a monster, that I turned into one myself.”

Rogers was sentenced to 20 months in jail, but with credit for time already served, she has 18 months left.