Men falsely accused of rape tried to kill themselves, court hears

THREE innocent men tried to take their own lives after they were falsely accused by a fantasist who claimed to be the victim of rapists and a grooming gang, a court heard.

Eleanor Williams, 22, accused a number of men of raping her and posted on Facebook in May 2020 that she was the victim of an Asian grooming gang.

The allegations made by Williams, who was found guilty of perverting the course of justice earlier this year, led to protests in her home town of Barrow-in-furness, Cumbria, which were attended by Tommy Robinson, the farright activist, Preston Crown Court heard yesterday.

On the first day of her sentencing hearing, Mohammed Ramzan, a business owner who was baselessly accused of grooming Williams, told the court his life had been made “hell on earth” by the allegations.

Mr Ramzan, who was in tears as he spoke from the witness box, said two weeks after he was arrested following Williams’s claims, he tried to take his own life. “I still bear the scars to this day,” he said.

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.”

In a statement read to the court, Jordan Trengove said the word “rapist” had been spray painted across his house and his window was smashed after Williams falsely 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 added: “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.”

The court heard there were 151 crimes following the Facebook post, including 83 hate crimes.

Oliver Gardner said a chance encounter with Williams in Preston led to him being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Mr Gardner, who was falsely 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.”

Williams, of Teasdale Road, Barrow, is expected to be sentenced today for nine offences of doing acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice.