Sentencing has taken place in the case of Eleanor Williams after she was found guilty to having falsely claimed she was abused by a grooming gang and a victim of sexual abuse, violence and rape.
Her false claims included local business owner who she said had groomed her since the age of 12.
The photos of her injuries went viral on social media with her Facebook post being shared more than 100,000 times resulting in demonstrations in her home town.
However the jury heard evidence that she inflicted the wounds on herself with a claw hammer and a Snapchat account of an alleged abuser had been created using the Wi-Fi at her mother’s address.
CCTV, a handwriting expert, a pathologist, eyewitness accounts, mobile phone positioning data, medical reports and forensic evidence were all used in the complex and unusual case.
Eleanor Williams was sentence to eight and a half years imprisonment following an 11 week trial at Preston Crown Court.
Barbara Webster was led by Jonathan Sandiford KC was instructed by CPS North West Rape and Serious Sexual Offence Unit