University of Wisconsin students listened Monday as Patty Murphy shared her experience trying to prove she was a victim of rape.

Murphy said she was treated unfairly by the Madison Police Department and fought them for 10 years, later going to federal court to prove to people she had been raped.

Following an investigation, MPD officials ultimately acknowledged Murphy was raped, and Police Chief Noble Wray issued a formal apology at a City Council meeting.

Bill Lueders, news editor at the Isthmus and author of “Cry Rape: The true story of one woman’s harrowing quest for justice,” said the city of Madison treated Murphy abnormally. Lueders was a vocal supporter of Murphy, and his coverage of her case pressured the MPD to look into it further.

"Most of the time rape victims are treated with sensitivity. However, Patty's story shows the willingness of society, even people in law enforcement, to disbelieve women who said they have been raped," Lueders said. "Everything that could have been used to discredit Patty was used."

Lueders added the Federal Bureau of Investigation says the incidence of false reporting by victims of sexual assault is between 2 and 8 percent — a range similar to that of all violent crime.

Murphy said the morning after the rape, she phoned the police and went to the hospital, adding she made the mistake of not calling a rape crisis counselor immediately because she was in a state of shock.

From the beginning, Murphy said she had a bad feeling about MPD Detective Tom Woodmansee.

"I had a hard time answering Woodmansee's explicit, detailed questions, and it got to the point where he was frustrated, and he frightened me, saying 'If we have to go into the bedroom and role-play this, we will,'" Murphy said.

Lueders said Woodmansee came to doubt Murphy's account and drew up 41 "insubstantial" reasons for doubting the account, claiming there was no sign of trauma and a test of rubber residue — which Murphy later found out did not exist — indicates she was not raped and was lying.

After an hour and a half of "intense interrogation" from Woodmansee and another detective, officials decided Murphy’s allegation was false, Murphy said, adding the detectives left deeper scars than the actual rape by asking such humiliating questions.

"I offered to take a lie detector test or undergo hypnosis to prove it happened, but they didn't believe me so I confessed that I lied," Murphy said. "If I didn't confess I would have to stay overnight in jail, but I had a business to run and I couldn't stay overnight."

Lueders said Patty's confession was the central event to her story.

"She was couched in the language of fear — she had to answer what they wanted to hear," Lueders said, adding Murphy was charged with a misdemeanor for obstructing an officer.

After confessing, Patty asked for the case to be reopened despite people telling her she did not have a chance to prosecute her perpetrator, Lueders said.

Murphy said everything changed when she met Lueders, who worked at a newspaper that had filed lawsuits seeking complaints against police.

Lueders said it was "remarkable for Patty to keep going after people including Woodmansee, a criminal offense attorney, and many others said she was running a huge risk by asking for an investigation, and going to lose in the federal court."