DUBAI: A British son reportedly self-harmed over false sex abuse allegations that a 22-year-old woman made against his father.
Eleanor Williams was earlier sentenced to eight and a half years’ jail when a British court convicted her of perverting justice after she falsely accused businessman Mohammed Ramzan, from Cumbria, of leading an Asian grooming gang.
Ramzan and other men were victims of false allegations and rape and abuse claims made against them by the 22-year-old via a Facebook post. The social media post included graphic images of injuries she alleged that she had sustained.
On Tuesday, the Daily Mail reported that Ramzan and Jordan Trengove, another innocent man who was a victim of the woman’s allegations, had been pushed to the brink of suicide.
In an interview with 5 News, Ramzan, a father of four, shared the agonies that his family has been through due to the false allegations. He said that he almost took his own life and revealed how he walked in on his son self-harming one evening.
Media reports cited Ramzan telling TV journalist Dan Walker how he found his son slicing his arms.
“I have gone to use the loo, his room’s next door, there’s lights on and I walked in, and you see your son and … because we were all keeping each other strong, but we weren’t exposing anything how it was affecting.”
The 43-year-old businessman was falsely accused by Williams of grooming her from the age of 12, putting her to work in brothels in Amsterdam and trying to sell her.
“And there was a point of where everybody, my sons wanting to move out, and I was like, ‘No, we’re not,’” the father was quoted as saying.
“And my son he turned around and goes, ‘You know, you Dad, you’re known as a paedo. Everyone claims, everywhere on social media, my friends, this is a horrible town, why have you moved us here?’”
Ramzan went on to say that he once smashed a bottle and tried to slice his neck in front of his family and a friend, who grabbed his hand and stopped him.
The accused had also given the police an account of being taken to Blackpool, where she alleged Ramzan threatened her and where she was taken to different addresses and forced to have sex with men.
Ramzan said that his family would remain in Barrow but admitted he was concerned that far-right supporters on social media were still saying that Williams’ claims were true.
The family have decided to start a campaign to change the UK’s social media laws, and are looking at setting up a foundation as they work to “move forward.”
Ramzan also plans to sue police and the Home Office over the torment that the investigation caused him.