A woman who falsely cried rape against her former husband was facing jail yesterday after being convicted of perverting the course of justice.

Sally Henderson, 40, a mother of two, described by the prosecution as a "wicked liar", claimed Richard Cooke, 39, had repeatedly raped her during their year-long marriage.

But police discovered her claims were almost identical to false allegations she had made five years earlier against a previous boyfriend, Mark Rowe, 42, Gloucester Crown Court heard.

Lifting an order preventing her identification, Recorder David Lane, QC, said: "The public has a right to know the identity of a person who makes such allegations and who seeks to use the system of justice for her own, unscrupulous ends.

"These two men were put through the extreme anxiety of facing the most serious and most grave offences that can be brought against a man."

Neither man was charged but Henderson's plea of not guilty meant that they had to give evidence to the jury.

The judge told Henderson she had "forced the two men to appear in a public court, face complete strangers and give evidence and be cross-examined about painful, embarrassing and intimate details".

Henderson reported the false rapes only after both men left her. Mr Cooke was held in a police cell for 36 hours following his arrest.

Mr Cooke told the court: "It was quite shocking to have three or four police officers arrest you, manhandle you and take you away for something you've never done."

Adjourning sentence for reports, the judge warned Henderson, the mother of a daughter of 16 and a 20-year-old son, a soldier, that she could face a lengthy jail term.

Henderson, of Woodmancote, near Cirencester, Glos, who recently graduated from the University of Gloucestershire with a business management and human resources degree, had denied one count of perverting the course of justice.

Henderson had met Mr Cooke, a lorry driver, through an internet dating agency in October 2003. The couple married on Valentine's Day 2004 and Mr Cooke financially supported Henderson while she took her degree.

But Henderson became increasingly unhappy with Mr Cooke's performance in their sex life, following injuries he suffered in a car accident, the court heard. The marriage deteriorated and after a furious argument in December 2004, Mr Cooke left.

It was only then that Henderson reported to police that she had been violently and sexually assaulted.

Lynne Matthews, prosecuting, said: "Sally Henderson is a wicked liar. There is nothing more wicked that a woman can do against her husband or partner than to claim rape. But there is very little for a man to do other than say he didn't do it. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and her claims were a tissue of lies."

Acting Det Insp Mark Little said afterwards: "Thankfully cases such as this are rare and it is our hope that today's result does not discourage those who have been genuine victims of rape or sexual assault from reporting the matter to police."

During the trial, the judge imposed a ban on identifying Henderson under Section 1(1) of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, which guarantees lifetime anonymity to any woman who makes a complaint of a sexual offence.

But the judge lifted the restriction after the jury convicted Henderson. He said Section 1(4) of the Act gave him discretion to remove the order giving her anonymity. The Act allowed the lifting of such an order where the offence ? perverting the course of justice ? was not sexual, he said.

It was in the public interest that a woman who had made such grave, false accusations should be identified.