Eleanor Williams (criminal)

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Eleanor Williams (born 26 November 2000) is an English convicted criminal, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England who made supposed false claims of multiple serious crimes, including accusations of trafficking, rape by a group of men of Asian descent, blackmail, and physical violence, none of which were found to have occurred. Following her 2022 trial, Williams was found guilty on nine counts of perverting the course of justice, contrary to English common law. She was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison, but was released early on licence after serving one year and ten months. The alleged fictitious claims spread by Williams on the internet had lasting impacts, including multiple attempted suicides and a rise in racially motivated violence against the Asian community, and contributed to aspects of the Online Safety Act 2023, which criminalises the spread of harmful false information online.

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