Detective Senior Sergeant Grimstone. Photo / Janna Dixon

In a dramatic twist of events into the investigation of an alleged rape of a South Auckland woman, police say they will now charge the woman with making a false statement to police.

At a media conference in Papakura today, Detective Senior Sergeant Neil Grimstone said it was a sad and tragic case.

The woman concerned had been referred to the appropriate health professionals.

Mr Grimstone said he wanted to allay any public fears there was a "gun-toting rapist running around".

He said the event simply did not happen.

The 41-year-old woman had alleged a man posed as a plain clothes police officer on Thursday before bursting into her home with a handgun and subjecting her to sexual assaults for nearly three hours.

- NZPA