Eleanor Williams: Legal fight over money raised for rape fantasist

Shane Yerrell helped raise more than £22,000 in the aftermath of Eleanor Williams' fictitious claims of abuse

A man who raised more than £20,000 for rape fantasist Eleanor Williams is to take legal action to recover the money.

Shane Yerrell launched a crowdfunder after seeing a Facebook post in which Williams, of Barrow, Cumbria, falsely claimed she was raped and beaten.

He later handed over the money to her family with the intention it would be used to cover her legal fees.

Williams, 22, was jailed for eight and a half years on Tuesday for perverting the course of justice.

Her mother, Allison Johnston, has been approached for comment.

Williams alleged she had been raped by multiple men, groomed from the age of 12 and trafficked for sex.

Her Facebook post in May 2020 showed horrifying injuries that she claimed were caused by an Asian grooming gang. It sparked waves of sympathy and protests in her home town after it was shared more than 100,000 times.

'Betrayed' by lies

The money raised by Mr Yerrell was intended help Williams to bring her abusers to justice and was transferred to her mum's bank account in July 2020.

However, a police investigation and subsequent trial found the claims were a web of lies and her injuries self-inflicted.

Mr Yerrell, a councillor for Epping Forest Council in Essex, said he felt "betrayed" by Williams and called on her mum - herself a councillor in Barrow - to return the funds.

"I think a lot of people have been betrayed. I've been betrayed, the people who donated have been betrayed," he told the BBC.

"I'm going to take legal action to recover the money in full. It's with a solicitor at the moment and we go from there.

"It feels like I failed as a fundraiser. I got it wrong with my judgement. I know a lot of people did, but I put a lot of time into it.

"I felt gutted for Ellie and wanted to help her and her family. It's gutting to know it's all fabricated."

More than 1,100 people donated to an online appeal to "get justice" for Williams

Mr Yerrell, who established the charity Through the Fight Foundation to raise funds for people in need, said he had agreed with Ms Johnston that in the event the money was not used by her daughter for a legal case it would be donated to two charities.

But Women's Community Matters, in Barrow, and the Maggie Oliver Foundation which helps survivors of sexual abuse, turned down the funds following the conclusion of the trial in January.

Mr Yerrell said he was then in regular contact with Williams' mother for a month as he sought to get the money back before communications broke down.

"Allison assured me the money was still there, but then she began telling me she needed to wait for legal advice," he said.

"I've got a duty of care to the people who donated in good faith. I would like it to go to people who deserve it.

Mr Yerrell now intends to split the money between the James Bulger Memorial Trust and Barrow Multicultural Forum.

Three men falsely accused of rape and trafficking by Williams attempted suicide and said their lives had been destroyed.

In sentencing, Honorary Recorder of Preston Judge Robert Altham said it was "troubling to say the least" that Williams had shown "no significant signs of remorse" for her allegations, which he described as "complete fiction".

Williams has launched an appeal against her conviction.

The Big Cases: The Lie That Destroyed A Town is available on BBC iPlayer