A woman who told Boise police she was sexually assaulted by a stranger who broke into her North End home early Wednesday admitted to police Friday she made the story up, officials said Friday.

Now it will be up to Ada County prosecutors to figure out if they will charge the woman with filing a false police report.

The woman originally told police the assault happened about 2 a.m. Wednesday at her home in the area of North 15th Street and Lemp Street. She said someone pushed through her front door and attacked her. She did not contact police about it until 12:30 p.m. that afternoon.

Detectives spent the past several days investigating and doing interviews before the woman confessed Friday morning that the attack never took place. Police aren't saying anything about a possible motive for why the woman reported the assault on Wednesday.

Police officials said they wanted to thank the public, including residents of the North End, who have been on alert for suspicious activity.

Boise police say there is no connection between the North End case and a report of sexual assault by a stranger near the Boise State campus Nov. 18.

A woman told police she was walking south on University Drive, near Manitou Street, between 11 p.m. and midnight when she was attacked.

The attacker in that case is described as a light-skinned man in his early 20s with short dark hair and scruffy facial hair. He wore dark clothing.

Anyone with information on the University Drive incident should call Crime Stoppers at 343-COPS, go online to www.343cops.com or text to CRIMES (274637), subject Tip236.

Law enforcement and psychological professionals say adults usually file false police reports because they want attention — but don’t realize how much commotion it can cause and then find it hard to recant because of publicity. Many of those people are also suffering from mental illness, officials say.

False reports of violent crimes are rare, but Statesman archives show at least 11 incidents of false reporting by children or adults in the past eight years.

Here a handful of notable cases from Ada County.

* Oct. 21, 2000: A 20-year-old woman tells police a man attacked her on the Greenbelt and attempted to rape her, just weeks after police found the body of a woman in the Boise River and while the killer was still on the loose. The city spent more than $6,000 investigating the claim before she recanted.

* Nov. 9, 2006: A Boise State University student says he was attacked near the Greenbelt near campus because of his sexual orientation. A week later, he admitted to fabricating the story and injuring himself.

* Jan. 8, 2008: A Boise cabbie tells Ada County deputies she was kidnapped at knifepoint, sexually assaulted in the desert near Kuna, then forced into her trunk. About a week later, after several appearances on TV, she admitted the ruse.

* March 18, 2008: A woman tells Boise police a man tried to abduct her from an East Boise gas station. The next day, police say it was a hoax.