Eleanor Williams (criminal)

Eleanor Williams is an English criminal, famous for making false claims of multiple serious crimes. Her claims include accusations of trafficking, rape, blackmail, and physical violence, none of which were found to have occurred. Following her 2022 trial, Williams was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison, a sentence which she is currently serving.

Eleanor Williams
Eleanor Williams used a hammer to inflict injuries to herself before posting her photos on Facebook
Known for	Making false claims of rape, grooming and trafficking
Criminal status	In prison
Criminal charge	Nine counts of perverting the course of justice
Penalty	Eight and a half years

The fictitious claims spread by Williams on the Internet had lasting impacts, including multiple attempted suicides, a rise in racially motivated violence, and the creation of the Online Safety Act 2023, which criminalises the spread of false, harmful information online.

False accusations and conviction

Williams' first claim was in 2017, when she was 16 years old. She stated in November 2017 that she became unwell from drinking beer and consuming marijuana while at a man's home. Williams' family was contacted by him and his companions, who then picked her up and took her to the hospital. At the hospital, she claimed she had been raped. After the accused was taken into custody in January 2018, she withdrew her support for the prosecution.^[1]

In 2019, Williams made false allegations of rape against another man, causing the police to arrest and keep him in custody for three months. Williams was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice before being released pending further investigation.^[2] She told police that she was trafficked to Blackpool, Ibiza, and Amsterdam. The investigation revealed she had instead booked herself into the Blackpool hotel and stayed inside. She retracted the Ibiza claim when informed her travel records would be checked. The investigation further found that she had spent her entire time in Amsterdam with her sister and her sister's boyfriend.^[3]

In 2020, Williams claimed she had been passed around for sex for years across the North of England by an Asian gang who drugged her, beat her, blackmailed her, and threatened her with weapons.^[4] In May, Williams was discovered by police with wounds to her legs and abdomen, a cut finger, and a swollen eye. She later uploaded photos of the wounds to Facebook, claiming that Asian males had battered, groomed, and trafficked her. A pathologist found that her injuries, however, were consistent with being self-inflicted; a hammer that she had purchased earlier that month was found to have her DNA on it.^[1] Williams was subsequently remanded on charges of perverting the course of justice.^[5]

In 2022, Williams' trial was held. Handwriting experts verified that she wrote letters to herself before claiming they were from her victims.^[6] Williams was found guilty of eight counts of perverting the course of justice, pleading guilty to the ninth charge.^[7][8]

In March 2023, Williams was jailed for eight and a half years. She immediately sought an appeal, which was denied by the Court of Appeal.^[9][10] The Attorney General's office considered raising the sentence at the Court of Appeal for being unduly lenient, which could have potentially lengthened her sentence, but ultimately decided not to.^[11]

Impact

Williams' posts went viral, with one being shared more than 100,000 times.^[12] After the post went viral, over £22,000 was crowdfunded by local councillor Shane Yerrell for a private prosecution against the (fictitious) grooming gang. Williams' mother held onto the money during the trial, stating that it was for an appeal. Yerrell then started legal proceedings.^[13] Williams' mother donated the funds to two unnamed charities, with multiple other charities refusing to take the money.^[14]

Williams' claims heightened racial tensions across Britain; Cumbria Police reported dealing with over 150 extra crimes following her post, of which they considered 83 to be hate crimes. The senior investigating officer for the case said that he was "shocked" at the level of racism the accusations caused.^[15] The Guardian wrote that there had been reports of Indian restaurant owners having their windows smashed in Barrow.^[16] Far-right activist Tommy Robinson turned up in Barrow-in-Furness, claiming to be a journalist investigating the case.^[5] In a court statement, Williams stated that she did not want Robinson to come to Barrow, and that she was "devastated" by the impact her post had on the community.^[17] As of March 2023, hate crime in the area had not yet decreased to the pre-2020 levels.^[18]

The Guardian reported in 2023 that three of the men falsely accused by Williams had since attempted suicide.^[16]

A charity in Barrow that supports victims of sexual exploitation said many of its clients were reluctant to report abuse to police because they “don’t want to be arrested”.^[18] Other victims of abuse, including Sammy Woodhouse from the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal, claimed Williams' false allegations "caused harm" to survivors and will deter others from coming forward.^[19][20]

The local newspaper, The Mail, became a subject of a boycott because of its reporting on the case. In his sentencing remarks, Judge John Altham said that the boycott had potentially contributed to the newspaper's "financial collapse".^[7]

In 2023, Conservative MP Simon Fell raised the consequences of Williams' case to justice ministers in Parliament. He said that the virality of her claims and its social media spread prevented the police from adequately doing their job. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Services, Mike Freer, responded that the government intended to create two new offences in the Online Safety Bill (passed as the Online Safety Act 2023 in October) to address the issue. This includes criminalising "communications where a person sends information that they know to be false with the intention of causing harm".^[21]

References

1. "Eleanor Williams: A hammer, social media messages and a Blackpool trip - how her false claims unravelled". Sky News. 14 March 2023.
2. "Eleanor Williams: Barrow woman 'hurt herself with hammer'". BBC News. 11 October 2022. from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
3. "Barrow woman convicted of making false rape allegations | The Crown Prosecution Service". www.cps.gov.uk. 3 January 2023. from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
4. McCann, Phil (3 January 2023). "Eleanor Williams: The grooming gang lies that sparked outrage". BBC. from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
5. "Appeals for calm after Tommy Robinson visits Barrow amid protests". The Guardian. 26 May 2020.
6. Pidd, Helen (14 November 2022). "Barrow-in-Furness man weeps during trial of woman who made rape and trafficking claims". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
7. HHJ John Altham (14 March 2023). "R -v- Eleanor Williams Sentencing Remarks" (PDF). judiciary.uk. Preston Crown Court. (PDF) from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023. The local newspaper was subject to boycotts and ultimately, I am told, collapsed for financial reasons – though there is no evidence before me upon which I could conclude that this was a direct result of the boycott.
8. Melley, Brian (14 March 2023). "Fake sex abuse claims get British woman 8.5 year prison term". The Independent. from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
9. "Eleanor Williams appeals against her false rape conviction". BBC News. 28 February 2023. from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
10. Taylor, Dan (31 August 2023). "Judge makes decision on Eleanor Williams bid to appeal conviction". The Mail. from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
11. Farnworth, Amy (20 April 2023). "Sentence appeal of woman who made false claims about grooming gangs rejected". Lancashire Telegraph. from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
12. "Eleanor Williams case raised in call for social media rules". BBC News. 28 March 2023. from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
13. "Eleanor Williams: Legal fight over money raised for rape fantasist". BBC News. 17 March 2023. from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
14. "Eleanor Williams: Mum donates funds raised for rape fantasist". BBC News. 3 April 2023. from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
15. McCann, Phil (2023-03-14). "Eleanor Williams: The lasting impact of fake rape claims". BBC News. from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
16. Pidd, Helen; Pidd (14 March 2023). "Eleanor Williams jailed for eight and a half years after rape and trafficking lies". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
17. Farrell, Jason (14 March 2023). "Eleanor Williams: 22-year-old who made false claims of being groomed by Asian gang sentenced to eight and a half years". Sky News. from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023. She added she was "devastated" by the impact her Facebook post had on the community of Barrow.
18. Pidd, Helen (16 March 2023). "Eleanor Williams case has made abuse victims reluctant to report, says charity". The Guardian. from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
19. "Sexual abuse victims say Eleanor Williams case deters them from coming forward". Sky News. 18 March 2023.
20. "Eleanor Williams: False rape claims have 'caused harm' to survivors". BBC. 15 March 2023. from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
21. "Court Proceedings: Social Media". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 730. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 28 March 2023.