Ten months ago, Virginia Foster-Eisler called the FBI with some explosive allegations against a pair of state police officers in Butler.

The 51-year-old Eisler of Prospect claimed the officers had sexually groped her, harassed her and for several hours searched her home without producing a warrant.

Her husband, John A. Eisler Jr., 56, backed up at least some of the disturbing accusations.

The claims prompted an investigation by the state police internal affairs unit.

But the focus of that investigation eventually turned to the accusers, authorities said.

Last week, police charged both Eislers with lying about the officers’ purported misconduct. They said that what the Eislers claimed, never occurred.

Investigators believe the suspects targeted Sgt. Patrick Sarnese and Trooper Gesuele Burello, according to court documents, because they were upset with the officers whose work helped to put Virginia Eisler’s son in prison.

Virginia and John Eisler both are charged with retaliation for past official action, making false reports and conspiracy, all misdemeanors.

The couple, who has an unlisted telephone number, could not be reached for comment. It was not known if either has an attorney.

Troopers at the Butler barracks in 2011 were assigned to investigate a rash of burglaries and thefts in the Prospect area.

During that probe, 26-year-old Joseph R. Brandon, Virginia Eisler’s son and John Eisler’s stepson, along with two men were identified as suspects in the crime spree.

Police in October 2011 arrested Brandon and one of his accomplices at the Eislers’ home, where a warrant search turned up numerous stolen property, documents said.

Brandon was convicted on a list of charges including five counts of burglary. He was sentenced to 14 to 48 months in state prison.

On Dec. 6, 2012, he was transferred from the county prison to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to begin serving state time.

He currently is at the State Correctional Institution-Mercer.

The day after his prison transfer, documents said, Virginia Eisler called the FBI in Clarksburg, W. Va., claiming Sarnese and Burello “acted in a lewd and sexually suggestive way toward her” during the 2011 investigation, according to a police affidavit.

Additionally, she claimed Sarnese kicked in the door and did not show her the police warrant for four hours while troopers searched her house.

“Furthermore,” documents said, “she claimed officers pulled their guns on her and threatened to kill her.”

The FBI forwarded Virginia’s Eisler’s allegations to the state police internal affairs division. Authorities in January interviewed Virginia and John Eisler.

The defendants repeated the claims they had previously made to the FBI, police said.

All the officers involved in the search of Eisler’s home, questioned as part of the internal police probe, denied wrongdoing or having seen any wrongdoing.

Investigators found no other evidence to substantiate the defendants’ claims, police said.

Police Sgt. William Myers of the internal affairs unit later questioned the couple about their motives. The Eislers, police said, insisted that their claims were not in retaliation for Brandon’s prosecution.

Still, “they alleged the charges against their son were fabricated and that it was a conspiracy involving the state police, the district attorney’s office and even the Butler County Prison,” documents said.

Myers did not return a telephone call Thursday.

Investigators reviewed a recorded telephone call made in October 2011 from the county prison between Virginia Eisler and her son.

Virginia Eisler in that call angrily refers to the search of her house, documents said, and at one point lashes out at police saying, “I’m taking them all down; they’re done, they’re done!”

Throughout the internal affairs investigation, police said, the Eislers maintained that their complaints were valid.

But investigators in charging papers noted that the defendants did not make their complaints until 14 months after their home was searched.

Additionally, authorities said, they found it suspicious that Virginia Eisler had called the FBI, not police, the day after her son was transferred to state prison.

“Based on the timing of the complaint, the fact (the Eislers) called the FBI and the overall outrageous nature of their complaints, documents said, “it is alleged they conspired to provide false information to law enforcement in an attempt to retaliate against the people that investigated and arrested their son.”

The Eislers are scheduled to appear before a district judge Oct. 3 when the judge will determine whether police have enough evidence for these cases to go to trial.