A woman who falsely claimed she was r@ped and trafficked by an Asian grooming gang has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years. Eleanor Williams sparked protests in her Cumbrian home town of Barrow after posting photos on social media of injuries she said were from beatings.
But Preston Crown Court heard she inflicted the wounds herself using a hammer. Williams, 22, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
A two-day sentencing hearing was told three men Williams falsely accused tried to take their own lives after being targeted and suffering “hell on earth. One of them – Jordan Trengove – spent 73 days in prison, sharing a cell with a convicted sex offender after he was charged as a result of Williams’ claims.
The court heard he had the word “rapist” spray painted across his house
Business owner Mohammed Ramzan, who Williams claimed groomed her from the age of 12 and put her to work in brothels in Amsterdam, said he had received “countless death threats” on social media.
Williams had given police an account of being taken to Blackpool by Mr Ramzan where she said she was taken to different addresses and forced to have sex with several men.
When police made inquiries, they found she had travelled to the seaside town alone and stayed in a hotel, where she bought a Pot Noodle from a nearby shop and then stayed in her room watching YouTube on her phone.
Meanwhile, Oliver Gardner said a chance encounter with Williams in Preston led to him being sectioned under the Mental Health Act after he was accused of rape.
Honorary Recorder of Preston Judge Robert Altham said Williams had experienced difficulties since childhood and had a history of self-harm. However, he said her allegations were of the utmost severity and it was troubling there had been “no significant sign of remorse” and “no explanation why the defendant would commit these offences”.
Describing her claims as “complete fiction”, he said: “Unless and until the defendant chooses to say why she has told these lies we will not know.
The judge added: “She’s gone to extraordinary lengths to create false accusations including causing herself significant injury. The claims had created a “state of heightened tension” in Barrow for about four months, he said, with police describing the turbulence as being like nothing seen in the town for decades.
Source: BBC
In other news – Boris Johnson to give evidence to Partygate inquiry next week
Boris Johnson will give public evidence about whether he misled MPs over Partygate on 22 March, the Privileges Committee has confirmed.
The former prime minister will be questioned by the cross-party committee from 14:00 GMT in a televised session. Learn more
