An alleged hate crime against a gay student traumatized Boise State twice this month, first when the student reported the Nov. 9 attack and again Friday when he admitted he’d lied about it.

Initially, the student said he’d been struck from behind with an object and then hit several times in the face by a man using anti-gay expletives, according to the Arbiter Online, the independent campus newspaper. Also, the student reported to police that his car was vandalized that morning with the same homophobic words. The student was transported by ambulance from the campus to a Boise hospital.

More than a week later, the student told police he used a stick and his own fists to wound himself. Now, he could face misdemeanor charges for filing a false report.

During the time between the fraudulent report and the young man’s admission, students and campus organizations sponsored a “No Oppression Tolerated, Not on Our Campus” rally on Nov. 14. A candlelight vigil was held the following night. Boise police beefed up patrols on campus and around the city’s Greenbelt, where the attack was reported to have taken place, and investigated the case for a week.

Supporters were embarrassed by the admission, but some continued to sympathize with the troubled student. Others worried that the false report would undercut the push for gay rights in Idaho. Still others, including an occasional gay-rights backer, demanded that the student be prosecuted for his lie.

Indeed, the student should be prosecuted. He should also be ordered to seek counseling as part of any sentence should the matter go that far. Rather than create sympathy for a serious problem, he has fanned cynicism. He has also made it harder for real victims of hate crimes against gays to report them.

Several errors in judgment surround this case.

First, the gay student lied for an unknown reason and then maintained the lie as gay and straight students rallied to comfort him and demand change. Some concluded that Idaho is worse than other states in dealing with antipathy toward gays because voters approved a constitutional amendment in favor of traditional marriage two weeks ago. They seized upon this case of faux gay bashing to make their political point and denigrate a state that has adopted some of the nation’s strongest hate-crime laws. Finally, students, college officials and the community reacted and rallied before police had a chance to uncover the truth.

In 2004, five women in Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls falsely reported they were raped or assaulted during a period when Coeur d’Alene police were still investigating a series of rapes and attempted rapes from the previous year. One woman told authorities she lied in an attempt to get her boyfriend home from overseas. Another said she was angry because a friend was late to pick her up after a college class.

In October 2003, a mixed Boundary County couple and an accomplice faked a hate crime to try to cover up insurance fraud.

Hate crimes, including the violent hate crime of rape, demean victims and plague our society. Each should be investigated as serious crimes until proven otherwise. Defenders of justice can’t allow an occasional confused individual to cause them to drop their guard and succumb to skepticism.