By Sheila Mckenzie-
A dangerous woman who falsely claimed she had been raped and trafficked by an Asian grooming gang has been found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
Eleanor Williams, 22, of Barrow-in-Furness, was found guilty of eight counts at Preston Crown Court.
Williams sparked a worldwide solidarity movement when she posted graphic photos of herself on Facebook, alleging she had been beaten and raped by men who took her to sex “parties” around the north-west of England.
The post, made during the first Covid lockdown on 20 May 2020, prompted more than 100,000 people to join a Facebook group called Justice for Ellie, prompting a crowdfunder which saw more than 1,000 people donate £22,000 to help her and bring her abusers to justice.
One of her accused, an 18-year-old man who had gone on a night out with her and her friends, spent 10 weeks in prison on remand before police checked his alibi.
She accused him of drugging and raping her, but the jury was shown a photograph of Jordan Trengove in the back of a police van with another girl at the exact time he was alleged to have raped Williams.
She made two other claims against Trengove, including false allegations that he had raped her at knifepoint, manipulating social media posts to make it look as though he was sending her Snapchat messages boasting about the rapes.
Her conviction proving a web of lies by the dangerous liar is a disservice to the efforts of rape victims and campaigners in trying to achieve justice for true victims of rape.
Achieving justice for victims of rape has proved a challenge in many cases due to complainants being doubted, a state of affairs made worse by the story of Ms Williams.
The liar posted photos on social media of injuries she claimed to have sustained after being beaten, but the jury heard she inflicted the wounds on herself in a bid to falsely accuse the defendant.
One man told the court the false accusations had “ruined” his life.
Her Facebook post was shared more than 100,000 times and sparked demonstrations in her home town, but unbeknown to her, she had injured herself with a claw hammer.
Cumbria police eventually discovered that Williams had multiple phones she used to create a fictional web of abusers as well as fellow victims she created to support her lies.
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.
Jonathan Sandiford KC, prosecuting, said Williams had gone online to “effectively find random names” to present as either victims or perpetrators of trafficking.
Some of the people about whom she made allegations were real, while others did not exist, the jury heard.
In some cases, the conniving woman sent messages to herself, and in other cases manipulated real people into sending messages she then claimed were from abusers.
A Snapchat account Williams claimed belonged to an Asian trafficker called Shaggy Wood was found to be the account of a young white Essex man called Liam Wood.
Mr Wood worked in Tesco and had believed Williams was a friend from Portsmouth who was planning to visit him.
Another Snapchat account of an alleged abuser was created at her mother’s address, police found. The court heard she fabricated text messages from her so-called abusers
Williams had falsely claimed business owner Mohammad Ramzan had groomed her since the age of 12.
While under cross-examination, Mr Ramzan asked Louise Blackwell, defending: “Don’t you think you have put my life through enough hell, or your client has?”
Williams said Mr Ramzan had made her work in brothels in Amsterdam and sold her at an auction there.
However the court heard that at the time, his bank card was being used in a Barrow B&Q.
Another man falsely accused of rape, Jordan Trengove, told the court the allegations had “ruined” his life.
In prosecuting and sentencing for perverting the course of justice, prosecutors take into account mental health issues, learning difficulties, age, maturity and substance misuse, taking into account the suspect’s ability to form the necessary intention or understanding of the consequences of their actions.
A degree of mental health issues is sometimes responsible for false allegations of rape, but it is nevertheless always concluded to be malicious in nature.
Honorary Recorder of Preston Judge Robert Altham adjourned sentencing to March.