Eleanor Williams trial: Barrow woman claims rape by four Asian men

A woman accused of lying about being the victim of a grooming gang told police she was raped by four Asian men, a court has heard.

Eleanor Williams, from Barrow, Cumbria, was treated in hospital for injuries in the early hours of 13 March 2020, Preston Crown Court was told.

She claimed members of the gang had attacked her and threatened to rape her sister and bomb her mother's house.

The 21-year-old denies seven counts of perverting the course of justice.

The court heard she was taken to Furness General Hospital after a conductor on a train from Lancaster to Barrow contacted police with concerns for her safety.

In a statement, PC Olivia Draycott said Ms Williams had a black eye, a cut ear, blood on her chest, and bruises on her arms and legs.

She appeared "under the influence of some form of substance" and claimed she had been raped by four Asian men at a house in Morecambe, Lancashire, PC Draycott said.

The officer said Ms Williams told her she was controlled by a large group of men who organised nights where she had to have sex, and she was in "big trouble" because she had not returned to Barrow that night.

The jury also heard a transcript of bodycam footage of a conversation Ms Williams had with officers .

In it, she said one of the men had threatened her and told her not to forget how "powerful" he was.

She said: "He was going to rape my sister, kill my family. He said he was going to bomb my mum's house if he found out I'd gone back there again."

Ms Williams claimed she had been attacked by one of her abusers, who called her "slutty white trash", jurors heard.

She told officers she had started going to parties "which were not normal parties" when she was 13 and had a boyfriend who was 36.

Prosecutors allege her claims she had been groomed as part of an international sex trafficking ring were a "pack of lies".

Ms Williams denies seven counts of doing acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice.

The trial continues.

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].