Woman jailed for eight-and-a-half years after making series of false grooming gang claims
A 22-year-old woman has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years after falsely claiming to have been the victim of an Asian grooming gang.
Eleanor Williams (pictured), of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, was sentenced at Preston Crown Court on Tuesday after making a series of false rape allegations.
In a Facebook post in May 2020, which was shared more than 100,000 times, she described being beaten, abused and trafficked by Asian men.
She also posted pictures of her injuries, but the court heard that she had caused them to herself, with a hammer.
In January, a jury found Williams guilty of eight counts of doing acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice.
She pleaded guilty to a ninth count at an earlier hearing.
In sentencing remarks which were broadcast on television, Honorary Recorder of Preston Judge Robert Altham said: “It is troubling to say the least that she shows no significant signs of remorse.”
He said there is no explanation for why the defendant made the allegations, which he described as “complete fiction”.
He added: “Unless and until the defendant chooses to say why she has told these lies we will not know.”
Williams looked straight ahead and thanked the judge after he sentenced her.
In statements read to the court on Monday, three of the men Williams had accused described attempts to take their own life following her allegations.
Mohammed Ramzan, a business owner who Williams alleged trafficked her, told the court: “I have had countless death threats made over social media from people all over the world because of what they thought I was involved in.”
Williams claimed Mr Ramzan, 43, had groomed her from the age of 12, put her to work in brothels in Amsterdam, and sold her at an auction there.
But the court heard that, at the time she was in the Netherlands, his bank card was being used at a B&Q in Barrow.
Williams also gave police an account of being taken to Blackpool, where she said Mr Ramzan threatened her and she was taken to different addresses and forced to have sex with men.
When police made inquiries, they found she had travelled to the seaside resort alone and stayed in a hotel, where she bought a Pot Noodle from a nearby shop and then remained in her room watching YouTube on her phone.
Speaking outside court following the hearing, Mr Ramzan said: “There’s no winners here today, I feel no sense of triumph, only sadness.
“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.”
Jordan Trengove, who spent time in custody after being falsely accused of rape by Williams, told reporters he planned to take action against the police.
He said he does not believe Williams has shown any remorse and added: “I don’t think the sentence is long enough, in my opinion, for what she’s done to us all.”
Superintendent Matthew Pearman, of Cumbria Police, said Williams’ allegations led to “public displays of mass anger” in Barrow, with protests held outside the police station and on a retail park.
Videos of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson in the town were shown in court.
In a letter read to the court, Williams said she had not instigated anything which happened in the community and did not want Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, to come to the town.
She said: “I do not agree with his views or opinions.”
In the letter to the judge, she said: “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.”
Louise Blackwell KC, defending Williams, said her client maintained the allegations were true.
She added: “Other than her personal vulnerabilities and her age there doesn’t appear to be any motivation at all.”
Speaking after the sentencing, Mr Pearman said: “My biggest concern throughout this period has been that these false allegations would discourage genuine victims of abuse from coming forward to ourselves and our partners.
“It is important to note that Williams’ allegations could not have been taken any more seriously when she initially came forward. A large-scale investigation was launched and those she made allegations against were arrested and interviewed.
“This has been a lengthy, complex and ultimately tragic case, as well as a dark period for Barrow. I hope that the full story, now it is in the public domain, will demonstrate that the police take allegations of sexual and physical abuse extremely seriously and will investigate thoroughly.
“I urge anyone who has been the victim of sexual or physical abuse to report it today. You will be listened to and supported.”
Lies told by woman who was jailed after false rape claims
Eleanor Williams, 22, was jailed on Tuesday for perverting the course of justice after making claims including that she was the victim of an Asian grooming gang, operating in her hometown of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
The PA news agency looks at some of the lies Williams told.
The first claim
The first false allegation was made by Williams when she was 16.
Preston Crown Court heard she had been with others at Cameron Bibby’s house in November 2017 when she was sick after drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis.
Mr Bibby and his friends contacted Williams’ sister and mother, who came to collect her and later took her to hospital, where she alleged she had been raped.
Williams withdrew support from a prosecution in January 2018, after Mr Bibby had been arrested.
Injuries
In March 2019 Williams had been on a night out with Jordan Trengove when she was taken home after becoming intoxicated.
She would later allege Mr Trengove raped her that night, and then on two later occasions, claiming he came to her flat, attacked her and threatened her with a knife.
The court heard she did have injuries following the alleged attack.
Honorary Recorder of Preston Judge Robert Altham said: “She caused them to herself to support her allegations. As we will see this was to become a feature of her conduct.”
Trafficking
Williams claimed she had been groomed since the age of 12 or 13 by local business owner Mohammed Ramzan, who she falsely claimed took her across the region and persuaded her to have sex with other men.
She described punishment beatings, rape, a girl nearly dying as a result of a beating and another having a dog set on her.
Honorary Recorder of Preston Judge Robert Altham said: “This was a detailed account of the most serious sort of sex trafficking.”
Amsterdam
Williams told police she had been taken to Amsterdam by Mr Ramzan, forced to work in a brothel and sold at an auction for 25,000 Euros, but the buyer did not go through with the deal.
During the trial, Jonathan Sandiford KC compared the account to a scene from the Liam Neeson film Taken, in which an ex-Secret Service agent’s teenage daughter is abducted by human traffickers.
Preston Crown Court heard Williams had been in Amsterdam, but had shared a hotel room with her sister and sister’s boyfriend.
At the time Williams was in the Netherlands, Mr Ramzan’s bank card was being used at a B&Q in Barrow, police discovered.
Ibiza
Williams said she was taken to Ibiza by Mr Ramzan and made to have sex with men.
She admitted this was not true when officers suggested they check flight documents, but at trial she maintained the allegation.
Blackpool
When police investigated Williams’ account of being taken to addresses in Blackpool and forced to have sex with men, they found she had gone to the seaside resort alone and, after buying a Pot Noodle from a nearby shop, spent most of her time in her hotel room watching YouTube.
Preston
After a chance encounter with Oliver Gardner in Preston city centre, Williams initially claimed he was a trafficker who forced her to take cocaine, sold her to two Asian men and raped her.
Judge Altham said: “This was a complete fabrication, much of it would be disproved from CCTV.”
The hammer
In what the prosecution called her “finale event”, in May 2020 Williams was found by police with injuries including a swollen eye, cut finger and injuries to her legs and abdomen which were “too numerous to count”.
She would later post pictures of the injuries on Facebook with a description of being beaten, groomed and trafficked by Asian men.
But, evidence from a pathologist found the injuries were consistent with being caused to herself.
A hammer found at the scene had her DNA on and was identical to one she had purchased from Tesco earlier in the month.
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