A fantasist who convinced three men to commit suicide with claims of being sexually assaulted by an Asian grooming gang was today sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. CCTV evidence showed the moment she bought a hammer to smash her own face in. Eleanor Williams, 22, was convicted for perverting the course of justice earlier this year after claiming in a Facebook post that contained explicit photographs that multiple innocent men had subjected her to rape, trafficking, and abuse.

The post, which went viral with more than 100,000 shares in May 2020 during lockdown, prompted indignation across the country, hazardous racial rioting, and a rally in her hometown of Barrow-in-Furness that Tommy Robinson, the founder of the EDL, attended.

Her claims were proven false in court, as CCTV footage showed the 22-year-old in Tesco buying the hammer she would use to harm herself and a packet of Pot Noodles she ate in a hotel at the same time she claimed she was being held hostage.

Her complex web of lies caused three of the falsely accused men to attempt suicide, thugs to storm a curry restaurant and a Muslim takeaway owner to be followed down the street by guys who poured vodka on his head.

Judge Robert Altham criticised Williams for displaying “no significant sign of remorse” and said that there was “no explanation” for her lying.

She chose to accuse Asian and white men in an elaborate scheme to mimic “previous cases of national importance”, the judge said.

Mohamed Ramzan, a businessman accused of grooming Williams from the age of 12, testified in court that false accusations had turned his life into “hell on earth”.

In tears as he testified, Mr Ramzan claimed that two weeks after his arrest in response to Mr Williams’ claims, he tried to kill himself.

He said: “I still bear the scars to this day.”

As a result, Mr Ramzan said he and his family had been targeted “in the most terrible way,” causing damage to his property and “ruining” his businesses.

He explained: “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.”

Jordan Trengove, another victim of Williams’ scheme who spent 73 days in prison, said his life was “utterly destroyed” by her false allegations.

After she accused him of raping and attacking her, his house was spray painted with the term “rapist” and his glass was broken.

A third man, Oliver Gardner, said that he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act as a result of his contact with Williams in Preston.

Mr Gardner, who was accused of rape after meeting Williams in the city centre, said it was a “real shock” when Cumbria Police contacted him and told of her allegations, adding: “It was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

In his statement, he said that before being sectioned, he tried to commit suicide and said: “This whole period in my life has been totally overwhelming.”

The jury has found Williams guilty of making the allegations up and causing her own injuries as part of a fantasy. 

Senior Investigating Officer Doug Marshall said: “Williams had produced compelling evidence when reporting her abuse. However, as detectives investigated her accounts, they found evidence that Williams had not only lied but had concocted evidence to support her allegations including creating fake Snapchat accounts and inflicting injuries on herself.

“Cases such as this, where someone has invented crimes and concocted evidence, are extremely rare. What is, sadly, not rare is physical and sexual abuse against children and young adults. It occurs in Barrow, in Cumbria and across the country.”

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