'This destroyed us all': Father, 22, falsely accused of rape by serial fantasist insists he will never forgive her
16 March 2023, 07:16 | Updated: 16 March 2023, 08:20
A 22-year-old father falsely accused of rape by a serial fantasist has said he will never forgive her as he revealed people still take her side - despite her being jailed
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Eleanor Williams, 22, claimed four men raped, attacked and even trafficked her for sex when she was just 12 years old.
She published graphic 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.
But in January, a jury found her guilty of eight counts of doing acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice at Preston Crown Court. She was jailed for eight and a half years.
Read More: Serial fantasist who lied about Asian grooming gangs and faked rape injuries with a hammer jailed
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One victim, young dad Jordan Trengove, 22, attempted suicide after locals believed the serial fantasist's lies and spray painted his house with the word “rapist”.
“She was getting so much support and there was so much grief," Mr Trengove told the Sun just hours after she was sentenced.
“I wanted away from it all."
He added: “This destroyed us all.”
Mr Trengove spent 73 days in prison after Williams, then 19, claimed he drugged and raped her after they met in a nightclub in March 2019.
Despite being proven innocent, Mr Trengove says the situation made him want to move out of the area as he "doesn't want to be in the area when [Williams] is released".
He said he still did not why Williams made the accusations, adding: "We'll never know I guess. I'd love to know why this has happened and what made her do this and why me.
"After what she's done to me, I'll never have any sympathy for her ever."
Williams 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 Williams caused the injuries to herself with a hammer, which was found with her blood on close by.
She also sent 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.
As well as Mr Trengove, two other victims tried to take their own lives as the result of her lies.
Mohammed Ramzan, a business owner who was 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' claims he attempted to take his own life.
Williams claimed Mohammed sold her for auction in Amsterdam, but he was able to prove he was shopping in Barrow on the given date.
“I had a 10ft crime wall, with Blu Tack holding up social media posts she made and what I had been doing," he said.
“I rang the police every day with new evidence.”
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, adding: "This whole period in my life has been totally overwhelming."
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised by this article, for confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.
