A woman from the North West of England has been jailed after being found guilty of making a series of false accusations of rape.
Eleanor Williams, 22, posted a number of photos of bruises and injuries on Facebook in 2020 that went viral and led to hate crimes in the area tripling, claiming she had been raped and trafficked by an Asian grooming gang.
She had been found guilty in January of nine counts of perverting the course of justice and has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.
Williams claimed that local businessman Mohammed Ramzan had first had sex with her aged 12 or 13, had trafficked her and other young girls around North West England and was head of an international grooming gang. She also warned online of other “evil yet clever” Asian – predominantly Pakistani – businessmen.
Oliver Gardner, a young white man who had asked her for a lighter on the street, was also accused of rape by Williams, as was Jordan Trengrove, who even spent 73 days in jail on remand after being accused and had “rapist” spray-painted onto his house.
All three men said in court that they had tried to kill themselves after being falsely accused by Williams.
Writing to the judge in a letter she said, “I understand that it’s your job to believe the jury’s verdict and that’s OK. I know I have made some mistakes, I’m sorry. I know it’s no excuse but I was young and confused.
“I’m not saying I’m guilty but I know I have done wrong on some of this and I’m sorry. I’m devastated at the trouble that has been caused in Barrow. If I knew what consequences would have come from that status I never would have posted it.”
Williams maintained her innocence, but a forensic pathologist concluded that her injuries from the photos were self-inflicted.
[Image via Facebook]