A woman who lied about being groomed by a gang of Asian sex traffickers has been jailed for eight and a half years.
Eleanor Williams, 22, published pictures of her injuries and an account of being groomed, trafficked and beaten, on Facebook in May 2020, in a post which was shared more than 100,000 times.
Her posts sparked demonstrations in her home town of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and led to former English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson visiting the town to "investigate" the claims.
Williams made serious sexual allegations against a large number of men between 2016 and 2020 - and had fabricated evidence.
She was discovered with hammer injuries to her legs and one of her fingers was partially severed, but CCTV video shows Williams in a Tesco store buying the weapon.
Sentencing Williams, Judge Robert Altham said: "We are aware that the sex trafficking of young females does occur. There is a risk genuine victims will be put off reporting and fear they will not be believed I am sure anyone investigating will do everything they can to support them."
He added: "It is troubling she appears to show no remorse."
Yesterday, three men who were falsely accused of rape by Williams told the court the allegations caused them to attempt to take their own lives.
Judge Robert Altham said Williams made serious sexual allegations against a large number of men between 2016 and 2020 - and had fabricated evidence, LancashireLive reports.
The judge said Williams made allegations that Mohammed Ramzan tried to sell her in Amsterdam and took her to Ibiza to work as a prostitute.
He said Ramzan had never really met Williams, had nothing to do with trafficking and barely knew her.
During the trial, Williams' sister gave evidence saying they did take a trip together to Amsterdam and they were never apart.
Williams wrote a letter to the judge ahead of being jailed saying she "made some mistakes" and that she was "young and confused".
The letter makes no mention of the false allegations but says she is "devastated" at the consequences that her Facebook post has had on her community.
Mr Ramzan said in a victim's impact statement that he tried to take his own life after his arrested and fears there was a racial element to his ordeal.
He said: "I feel there has been a racial element and it has had an effect on the wider Asian community. I have not done anything to anyone to deserve this.
"Two weeks after my arrest I attempted to take my own life. I still have the scars to this day."
Jordan Trengove, who was charged and remanded in custody after the allegations, say that will forever be haunted by his time at HMP Preston.
He also described how the word "rapist" was spray painted on his house and his mum left home because she didn't feel safe.
He added that things calmed down after the charges were dropped until Williams' Facebook post went viral leading him to try and take his own life.
He said: "At one stage I attempted to take my own life. I've been diagnosed with complex PTSD."
He continued: "This will stay with me for life but I can now get help to move forward."
Oliver Gardner said his chance encounter with Williams in Preston led to him being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
Mr Gardner, who was accused of rape after he met Williams in the city centre, said it was a "real shock" when he was contacted by Cumbria Police and told of her claims.
He said: "It was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
In his statement, he said he tried to end his life before being sectioned.
Cameron Bibby who was accused of rape in 2017 said the allegation ruined his life.
In a statement read out in court: "The Justice For Ellie stickers on my neighbours' houses and cars intimidated me. I've lost most of my friends and some members of my family shared Ellie's post.
"I have applied for over 30 jobs but I never get an interview. I think this is because of my name being tarnished."
Statements from a number of women who Williams claims were trafficked were also submitted to the court, but not read out.
Each woman claimed they were false and explained how it affected them.
Yesterday, the court was shown videos of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson attending protests at Hollywood Retail Park in Barrow in May 2020.
In a statement, Superintendent Matthew Pearman said after Williams' Facebook post there was "unprecedented outcry on social media within the town of Barrow".
The court heard there were 151 extra crimes following the Facebook post, including 83 hate crimes.
Deputy Chief Constable Mark Webster said in a statement some businesses had closed and members of the community had left their homes because of the outcry.
Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Lucy Bacon told the court that Williams has Complex PTSD, which stemmed from "abusive and unpleasant experiences in her childhood". This was challenged by the prosecutor.
Dr Martin Locke, who was unable to carry out a full assessment, also took the stand and said there was no evidence of a psychiatric illness, but that Williams had "an immature personality".
At her trial, the court heard she had accused a number of men of rape, going back to 2017, and told police she was groomed and trafficked by an Asian gang.
In May 2020, she was found by officers near her home on Walney Island with injuries which she claimed were inflicted by the gang after she was taken to a house in the town and raped.
The prosecution claimed Williams caused the injuries to herself with a hammer, which was found with her blood close by.
It was alleged Williams sent some messages to herself, making them appear as if they were from traffickers or fellow victims, and in other cases manipulated real people to send messages that she then said were from her abusers.
The jury was told some of the people she made allegations about were real, while others, the prosecution claimed, did not exist.
During her evidence, Williams denied telling a "pack of lies" to the police and the jury.
In January, she was found guilty at Preston Crown Court on eight counts of doing acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice.
She pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to one count of perverting the course of justice, which related to contacting her sister and mother with requests for them to take a hammer to her solicitor.
