Who is Eleanor Williams? Woman who lied on Facebook about being raped by an ‘Asian grooming gang’ in Barrow

ELEANOR Williams is the subject of the Channel 4 documentary Accused: The Fake Grooming Scandal.

The true crime series, airing in January 2025, examines the fallout from a Facebook post in which the young woman made up claims she was raped and trafficked by a grooming gang.

Who is Eleanor Williams?

Eleanor Williams is a convicted criminal who was jailed for falsifying claims that she had been physically and sexually abused by a group of men from her hometown.

Williams first hit the headlines in May 2020 when she claimed in a Facebook post that she had been beaten, abused and trafficked by "evil yet clever" men in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.

She lied that she had been forced to attend sex parties and posted pictures of horrific injuries, which were later revealed to be self-inflicted, to back up her claims.

The false accusations garnered the attention of far-right groups due to Williams' claim that the men were part of an Asian grooming gang.

Williams' social media post sparked a public outcry and was shared more than 100,000 times before her lies were exposed.

Protestors also took to the streets under the belief that the police weren't properly handling the case.

Police became involved with Williams after the evening of May 19, 2020, when her family reported her missing.

Officers found Eleanor with numerous injuries, and soon after, a bloodied hammer was found in the field in which she was located.

Williams made several shocking claims to the police, including that she had been groomed from the age of 12 by a local business owner, and put to work in brothels in Amsterdam.

She also lied that another local had raped her after they met in a nightclub and said she was attacked by a third man after meeting outside a railway station.

Three of the men accused by Williams tried to take their own lives at one point due to her false accusations.

Officers became suspicious of Williams when several of her claims didn't add up.

First, it was found that the address Williams gave to police didn't have anyone living there.

Investigators also found that a Snapchat account that she claimed to be from a grooming gang was created at her home address.

She was later found to have six mobile phones she used to create fake identities and manipulate Snapchat accounts of men she met on dating sites.

A Home Office pathologist confirmed that Williams' injuries weren't consistent with her account, and appeared to be self-inflicted.

In addition, CCTV was found that showed Williams travelling alone to Preston where she met a man on the street and asked for a lighter at the time she said she had been sexually assaulted by a man.

Williams' lies have been likened to the plots of Liam Neeson's Taken and the Hollywood thriller Gone Girl.

She also stole parts of the plot of BBC drama Three Girls, which depicted the horrific real-life story of how three young girls were groomed, sexually abused, and trafficked by a group of men in Rochdale.

Accused: The Fake Grooming Scandal is a documentary that investigates the accusations made by Williams.

It airs on Channel 4 on Tuesday, January 7, 2025 at 9pm.

How long will Eleanor Williams serve in prison?

On March 14, 2023, Williams was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison at Preston Crown Court.

In January 2023, Williams had been found guilty of eight counts of perverting the course of justice.

At sentencing, Judge Robert Altham said there was "no explanation" for Williams' lies as he slammed her for showing "no significant sign of remorse".

Just a few weeks after Williams' sentencing, it was reported that her mother's car had gone up in flames in a suspected arson attack.

Allison Johnston's £20,000 Range Rover Evoque reportedly erupted in flames just seconds after Johnston got behind the wheel.

Johnston shared her fears that the fire was deliberate after she suffered backlash following her daughter's trial.

A spokesman for Cumbria Police said at the time that enquiries were taking place to fully establish the cause of the fire.

Where is Eleanor Williams now?

On January 5, 2025, The Sun revealed that Eleanor Williams had been unexpectedly released ahead of the halfway point in her sentence.

One person, posting on a local newspaper website, stated their strong opinions surrounding her early release.

They said: "This is absolutely disgusting! She's barely served any of her eight year sentence! How is this justice for what she did to those poor men."

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that Williams has been released.

An HM Prison and Probation Service spokesperson said: "Any individuals released on licence are subject to probation supervision, strict licence conditions and face a return to prison if they break them."