A woman who lied about being groomed by a gang of Asian sex traffickers was jailed today as the extent of her lies was laid bare in court.
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.
The allegations sparked violent 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 had made serious sexual allegations against a large number of men between 2016 and 2020 - three of whom said the false rape claims led them to try and take their own lives.
She created false names and messages to spin a web of lies that she was a victim of sex trafficking.
She even went as far as self-inflicting injuries with a hammer to make her story more believable.
One of the men she accused of grooming called her "delusional" and a "fantasist" in court.
As Williams was jailed for eight and a half years today, the Mirror looks at the disturbing lies she told and the impact it had on the victims and the wider community.
Attacked herself with Tesco hammer
Police found Williams in a field near her home with multiple injuries and her eye swollen shut.
She was discovered with hammer injuries to her legs and one of her fingers was partially severed.
CCTV video later showed Williams in a Tesco store buying the weapon herself.
Wearing a bright Adidas bag and headphones, she uses the self-service till to purchase the hammer and some other items, including a bottle of water.
She said she had been to catch a bus to Barrow but accepted a lift before claiming she was taken to a property with ten men who raped her.
A few days later police found a hammer near her home, with her blood and DNA on it.
But a Home Office pathologist said her injuries were completely inconsistent with her account and completely consistent with having caused them herself.
She spoke of being trafficked over a number of years and attempted to create a false alibi for the hammer by asking her sister to tell solicitors it was in her bedroom.
Invented people who didn't exist
The court heard how she invented people in her phone who didn't exist.
She used two phones to send and receive messages and take screenshots.
The court heard how Williams manipulated people she was in contact with on Snapchat by renaming them on her phone with the name of alleged traffickers.
She would induce sexual messages from them and take screenshots so it looked like there were traffickers pestering her.
One man from Essex had been renamed as 'Shaggy' - who she alleged was the name of a trafficker. She claimed she was from Portsmouth and manipulated messages creating a friendship for evidence.
Claimed she was sold at an Amsterdam auction
She claimed Mohammed Ramzan sold her for €25,000 at an auction in Amsterdam, but the buyer pulled out of the deal.
Williams had been to Amsterdam with her sister and her sister's boyfriend.
They shared a room and gave evidence during the trial that she was never out of their sight.
Said she was taken to Ibiza to work as prostitute
Williams also claimed Ramzan took her to Ibiza to work as a prostitute.
When she was confronted with travel documents, she replaced them with another lie.
When faced with travel documents, she admitted it was a lie but she replaced it with another lie.
Other girls gave statements confirming they had never been trafficked.
Falsely accused tried to take own lives
The court heard devastating impact statements from three men - including Ramzan - about the toll Williams' lies had taken on them.
Ramzan said he and his family received more than 500 death threats, while another accused man said his wife had left him over the allegations.
In the wake of the claims a local curry house had its windows smashed and a Muslim takeaway owner was chased down the street by men who poured alcohol on his head.
All three men said their lives were ruined and that they still fear going to Barrow.
They all said they had tried to take their own lives after being arrested.
Other 'trafficking victims' denied accusations
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.
Lied about Blackpool torment
Williams alleged she was told by traffickers to travel to Blackpool.
She told officers that she was taken to numerous addresses across Blackpool in one night to have sex with different men.
Detectives investigated and found that Williams arrived in Blackpool, checked into a hotel and left briefly, once, to buy chocolate from the local Co-op and milk and a Pot Noodle from the local Spar shop.
She was back inside her hotel room by 9.40pm and didn’t leave the room again until 10.40am the following morning.
When the extensive evidence of inconsistencies in Williams’ story was put to her, she admitted she had lied to officers.
House where she was 'raped' empty for years
Williams claimed was taken in a car to an address in Barrow and raped by numerous Asian men, one of whom attacked her with a knife.
She had been reported missing by her family and was then seen by witnesses in a field near her home.
She was found by officers with numerous injuries to her face and body and carrying a rucksack containing a bank card in her name.
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.
When officers went to the address where Williams claimed this attack happened, they found it had 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.
Facebook post sparked violent backlash
Williams was already on bail after being charged with seven counts of perverting the course of justice when she uploaded pictures to social media of serious injuries she had sustained to her face and body.
The court was shown videos of 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.
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