A woman who falsely accused men of raping and sex trafficking her - to the extent that one man spent time in prison - has been jailed for eight years for her lies. Eleanor Williams spun a web of lies that she was raped by multiple men and trafficked by an Asian grooming gang and has now been jailed for eight-and-a-half years.
A jury took just over three hours to convict the 22-year-old for nine counts of perverting the course of justice, after a court heard that graphic images of her alleged injuries at the hands of men, many who did not know Williams, had been self inflicted. One of these injuries included the defendant beating her own face with a hammer.
The images, which were shared tens of thousands of times on social media, sparked protests in her Cumbrian home town of Barrow, and resulted in those accused of inflicting them being vilified. So much so, one man had the word 'rapist' spray painted on his home.
Read next: Man allegedly killed woman who wandered into his home and went to bed
Despite her allegations being fantasy, inspired by plots of films and television shows, Williams' claims have seen three of her victims reportedly attempt suicide, one man left by his wife, and a journalist forced to flee Cumbria with her daughter after threats from far-right thugs.
Amid heightened racial tensions, EDL founder Tommy Robinson descended on the town to hold a protest, a curry house had its windows smashed and a Muslim takeaway owner was chased down the street by men who poured alcohol on his head. Threats led to a reporter at Barrow's The Mail newspaper having an anti-firebomb device fitted to her door, but this was not enough to protect her and she heeded police advice to leave the town temporarily.
Williams was just 19 years old when she made the claims about being a victim of sex trafficking by an Asian grooming gang who she said drugged, beat, blackmailed and threatened her with weapons in a Facebook post.
Mohammed Ramzan - who Williams claimed had groomed her from the age of 12, put her to work in brothels in Amsterdam, and sold her at an auction there - claimed part of her story came from Gone Girl. 'It's so many movies put together and you've just thrown my name in the mix and for what reason?,' he said in court, the BBC reported. 'It just baffles me. It's horrendous.' He 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.
She also claimed that the local business owner had trafficked her to Amsterdam where she was auctioned to men. But the court heard that at the time she said she was in the Netherlands, Mr Ramzen's bank card was being used at a B&Q in Barrow.
Her lies led to one man - who she had met on a night out - spending time in jail. 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. They had been on a night out in March 2019 when she was taken home after becoming intoxicated.
Williams later alleged Mr Trengove had raped her that night, and then on two more occasions, claiming he attacked her and threatened her with a knife. The court heard he had the word "rapist" spray painted across his house. The 22-year-old was finally cleared when police realised he had been in the back of one of their vans at the exact time he was supposed to have raped her, having been detained after an unrelated argument by a taxi rank.
Another man, Oliver Gardner, said a chance encounter with Williams in Preston one night led to him being accused of being a rapist who had trafficked her and sold her to two Asian men. As a result of the weight of the allegations against him he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
One of the most shocking accounts were claims that Williams had been beaten by a hammer, as the court saw graphic images of her bloodied face. It heard how on the evening of May 19, Williams had been reported missing by her family and was then seen by witnesses in a field near to her home.
She was subsequently found by officers with numerous injuries to her face and body and carrying a rucksack containing a bank card in her name. Her injuries included a swollen eye, cut finger and injuries to her legs and abdomen which were 'too numerous to count'.
Williams told officers she had been taken earlier that day in a silver Audi to an address in Barrow where she was raped by Asian men. She told officers the cuts she had received were from a knife used by one of her attackers.
However, thorough enquiries found no evidence to corroborate Williams' account. The evidence instead pointed to her injuries being self-inflicted. Officers located the address Williams reported the attack to have occurred. It was found to have been empty for two years and neighbours said they had never known of anyone of Asian origin either living at the address or coming or going from it.
Comprehensive CCTV checks were made, including of the Barrow town centre area. No sightings were found showing Williams or the silver Audi she told officers had been used to take her to the address.
A search was completed of the field where the first witness had seen Williams. With the help of a police dog, a bloodied black-handled, metal claw hammer was found. Detectives worked to trace where the hammer had come from and found it was for sale at Tesco in Hindpool Road in Barrow. CCTV footage was checked and clearly showed Williams purchasing the hammer herself.
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 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.
Before Judge Altham began his sentencing remarks, the defence read a letter from Williams in which she said she knew she had "done wrong over some of this" and was "sorry" but added she did not accept she was guilty.
She said she was "devastated" by the "trouble caused" by her Facebook post and added "if I knew what consequences would come from the status I would never have wrote it". She said "anything that happened in the community was not instigated by me and my family did not want Tommy Robinson in town".
Williams was found guilty in January of eight counts of doing acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice. She had earlier pleaded guilty to one further count.
Mr Trengove told reporters he did not think the sentence was long enough and that he planned to take action against the police. Meanwhile, Mr Ramzan said he felt "no sense of triumph, only sadness", adding: "I'm not sure how the family and I are going to recover from this. Mud sticks and I fear it may take some time."
Williams was convicted in January 2023 following a trial and was sentenced on Tuesday, March 14 to eight and-a half years in prison.
Read next:
Handcuffed drug dealer attempted to escape through police car window
-
Convicted murderer smirks and pulls faces as he appears in court
-
Parents of cyclist ask killer driver: 'Why didn't you see our son?'
-
Heroin addict punched off-duty police officer and brandished broken bottle
- Prison officer, 61, tells jury sex with 'drunk' young woman he met on night out was consensual
