GUILTY UK - Eleanor Williams, 19, from Barrow, made false sex trafficking and abuse claims, May 2020

Apparently it's been offered to charities and they won't accept it.
It's been reported since then that a charity has agreed to accept but that she has still not given the money back.

'Around £22,000 raised on JustGiving went to her mum Allison Johnston – who is now being urged by the man who launched the appeal to hand it to charity.
Shane Yerrell said: “People donated out of the kindness of their hearts and we were all tricked. I keep messaging her but she keeps stalling and claims she needs to take legal advice. Her daughter was convicted more than a month ago, the money should be returned.

Two have declined the cash but the James Bulger Memorial Trust and a Barrow-based charity will take it.'

 
10:07am

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the sentencing of Eleanor Williams. The sentencing at Preston Crown Court is expected to last two days. We'll keep you up-to-date with the latest here

10:37am

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.
In January of this year, a jury at Preston Crown Court found her guilty of eight counts of doing acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice.
She will appear at the same court for her sentencing hearing. It is expected to be a two-day hearing, with Williams sentenced on Tuesday.

10:38am

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.

10:38am

Williams' trial, which began in October last year, 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.
On May 19 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.
But the prosecution claimed Williams caused the injuries to herself with a hammer, which was found with her blood on close by.

10:39am

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 which 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.

 
11:29am

Following a slight delay the hearing has now started.

Jonathan Sandiford KC, who prosecuted the case, is addressing the judge Robert Altham, the Honorary Recorder of Preston.

11:58am

The court is due to hear victim impact statements.

12:32pm

The court has been hearing statements from men the centre of Williams' allegations
They opened up on the mental impact of her claims.

1:38pm

The court has heard that three of the men Williams accused - Mohammed Ramzan, Oliver Gardner and Jordan Trengove - tried to take their own lives.

1:50pm

Cameron Bibby.
He described his arrest as something 'I will never forget'.

1:52pm

He said he stopped talking to some family members who shared Williams' Facebook post in May 2020.

2:01pm

Jordan Trengove said when he was arrested in May 2019 'my whole nightmare began'.

2:02pm

Mohammed Ramzan read his own victim impact statement in court.
Through tears he described facing 'mental torture' because of the allegations.

2:45pm

Mr Ramzan said two weeks after he was arrested following Williams' claims he attempted to take his own life.
He said: "I still bear the scars to this day."
Mr Ramzan said his property had been damaged and his businesses had been "ruined" after he and his family were targeted "in the most horrendous way".
He said: "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."

2:45pm

Jordan Trengove said the word 'rapist' had been spray painted across his house and his window was smashed after Williams accused him of raping and attacking her.
He said he spent 73 days in prison, sharing a cell with a convicted sex offender, after he was charged as a result of her claims.
He said: "Things had calmed down a bit until the Facebook post in 2020.
"This made things even worse for me. There were big protests and marches in Barrow.
"The lowest point was when I tried to end my life in August 2020."

2:46pm

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.
He said: "This whole period in my life has been totally overwhelming."



 
2:46pm

Louise Blackwell KC, defending Williams, said: "Miss Williams continues in her allegations against the various people in pretty much the same circumstances."

 
[...]

Police recorded 151 crimes by other people linked to the case, including 83 hate crimes, Williams’ sentencing hearing heard.

[...]

He [Gardner] said the stress of being falsely accused resulted in him being sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Then, 18 months ago, he tried to kill himself and was sectioned again.

He said Williams had ruined his life. He had had one final exam to sit before becoming an electrician, but “because of what happened I was unable to continue my studies”, he said.

[...]

In his witness impact statement, the now 22-year-old [Trengove] described how people painted the word “rapist” on the front of his house and smashed his windows. He was rushed to hospital after trying to kill himself and has been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his ordeal.

After having a son with his new partner, social services told him they had received 60 anonymous tip-offs about him “not being safe around children”, Trengove said in his statement. Forced out of Barrow, he was greeted by his new neighbour shouting: “Rapist – we don’t want you living here.”

[...]

Frequently becoming tearful, [Ramzan] the 43-year-old described trying to kill himself as a result of the “mental torture” he had suffered. He said his windows had been smashed, his tyres slashed and he felt his reputation had been “destroyed”.

The court was also played YouTube clips showing solidarity protests in Barrow for the Justice for Ellie movement.

[...]

 
I think this trial is an important example of why people need to take things they see on social media with a hint of scepticism until the detail is out. Aside from the witch-hunts and terrible experiences of these falsely accused men, even looking within the early pages of this thread we have members quite confidently saying how this must be a cover-up and she's clearly a victim based purely on social media rumours.
 
In fairness she didn't give herself a black eye, she absolutely battered herself head to foot. A lot of people probably found it hard to believe someone would go to that extent to make up 100% baseless allagtions. That and the fact police couldn't counter her narrative for fear of prejudicing their prosecution of her.

Though really I think people didn't appreciate that not just police, but CPS felt that they had enough evidence to have a reasonable prospect of conviction. They agreed to charge her, a supposed trafficked and raped victim of an 'asian grooming gang,' with multiple accounts of perverting the course of justice... Despite the insanely touchy subject and the unprecedented levels of blowback they would get if shown to be wrong... The only way it would make sense to take that risk and the inevitable fury of those who believed her story, would overwhelming amounts of evidence.
 
9:22am

Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the sentencing of Eleanor Williams. A judge will today deliver his remarks and sentence her for multiple counts of perverting the course of justice.


9:30am

In case you missed it, here's what happened yesterday:
10:12am

The judge has come into the room and the hearing is beginning.

10:20am

The judge has been told Williams is entitled to a reduction of 179 days to her sentence because of time spent on curfew.

10:21am

Williams' barrister Louise Blackwell KC is addressing the judge on the impact of the defendant's allegations.
She says Williams' family did not invite the English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson to Barrow in 2020.

10:26am

Ms Blackwell KC says she has received written instructions from Williams.
She said when she made the allegations about the trip to Blackpool she 'was young and confused'.

 
10:32am

Explaining the Facebook post, Williams said she had been discharged from hospital that morning.

10:40am

She says on that day she was 'in a bad way'.

10:43am

She says: "I'm not saying I'm guilty but I know I have done wrong and for that I'm sorry."

 
Last edited:
10:45am

"I'm devastated for the trouble that's been caused in Barrow.

"If I knew what trouble would come from the status I would not have done it."

10:49am

She says she did not condone Tommy Robinson coming to Barrow and does not agree with his views.
Ms Blackford said Williams told her in the instructions that she and her family are not and 'never have been' racist

 

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