A British woman in her twenties complained of being kidnapped and raped by an Asian prostitute, but it was revealed that it was all a play, and the British society was shocked.
According to the British BBC and Guardian on the 14th (local time), Eleanor Williams (22), who was handed over to trial on nine charges related to obstruction of the judicial system, including false testimony and fabrication of evidence, was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison that day. The judge said Williams’ claim was “totally false” and pointed out that he did not show any signs of remorse or explain the reason for the crime.
The beginning of the incident dates back to May 2020. At the time, Williams claimed on Facebook that he had been kidnapped to the town of Barrow, located on the coast of Cumbria in northwest England, where he was assaulted and raped by numerous Asian men. The controversy escalated when Williams shared a photo of him with a large blood bruise over his eye and a photo of his finger being cut off.
As the post spread online, 50,000 protesters flocked to the village of Barrow to demand an investigation into the sexual assault case and strict punishment for the perpetrators. A global solidarity group called ‘Justice for Ellie’ was created on Facebook, and more than 100,000 people have joined.
However, the police investigation found that the house where Williams claimed to have been sexually assaulted had been vacant for two years, and neighbors stated that they did not see any Asians walking around the house. In addition, the silver Audi that Williams pointed out as the hijacker’s vehicle was not captured anywhere on CCTV in the town of Barrow.
While no evidence has emerged to support Williams’ claim, evidence has been found one by one to prove his own play. First, a police dog found a bloody hammer at the scene where a witness said he saw Williams. After tracking down where the hammer was sold, the police obtained CCTV footage showing Williams purchasing the hammer directly from a large mart.
Eleanor Williams. Facebook captureThe allegations of sexual assault were also not true. The police found out that Williams stole the identity of the man he identified as the perpetrator to create a social network service (SNS) account and fabricated evidence of sex crimes. The account was found to have been created at Williams’ home.
In addition, allegations that he was taken to numerous places in the Blackpool area at the direction of human traffickers and had sex with men, and that he worked in a brothel in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and was sold at auction for 25,000 euros (approximately 35 million won) are all true. It turned out that this was not the case.
Williams’ innocence has caused great damage to the community as well as to individuals. The three men who were identified as the perpetrators appealed in court, saying, “My life has become hell and I even tried to make extreme choices.” Among them, Mohamed Ramzan (43), a businessman whom Williams identified as a human trafficker, claimed to have received death threats on social media. Another was detained for 73 days on rape charges.
According to Cumbria Police, in 2020 alone, 151 crimes, including harassment and violations of public order, were committed in connection with the Williams case. Hate crimes tripled in the region that summer. As the wrong list of businesses involved in crime circulated on social media, the restaurants included in it suffered damage with broken windows and a sharp decline in customers.
Williams, who had previously complained of damage, refused to make any statements when police presented evidence. Later, in a letter submitted to the court, he said, “I know I made a mistake. sorry. I won’t make excuses, but I was young and confused,” he insisted. “I’m not saying I’m guilty.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.