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A young woman named Eleanor Williams has been exposed as a serial liar after falsely claiming she was groomed by an Asian gang in a series of videos captured by the police. The videos, shared exclusively with the BBC, document Williams' increasingly elaborate lies over a three-year period. In one video, she is seen with self-inflicted facial wounds while pretending to be drugged. Williams, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, was convicted of perverting the course of justice and sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison. False allegations of rape are extremely rare but can have serious consequences for genuine victims, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. Williams gained significant attention in May 2020 when she posted photos of her bruised face and body on social media, claiming she had been beaten and raped by a gang of Asian men. However, just an hour after her post went live, she was arrested. Williams' false claims resulted in a surge in hate crimes in her hometown, including death threats and verbal abuse towards members of the Asian community. Some businesses were also vandalized. Initially, the police were unable to reveal what they knew about Williams for fear of prejudicing a future trial. However, a BBC Three documentary has now revealed the extent of her deception. In 2017, when Williams was 16 years old, she accused her first male victim of rape. In the following police interview, she appeared young and innocent. However, she eventually withdrew her involvement from the investigation. A year and a half later, she made a fresh set of false sexual allegations against another man who spent 10 weeks in prison before being released. Williams then claimed she was being forced by an Asian grooming gang to have sex with men across the north-west of England. Detectives believe she had researched previous grooming scandals involving young white female victims and Asian perpetrators. The police obtained CCTV footage that disproved her claims and found that her mobile phone records contradicted her account. Despite growing suspicions, the police had to continue their investigation. Eventually, Williams went missing, but when she was found, she claimed she had been drugged, raped, and attacked by two Asian men. However, police found a hammer in the field where she was discovered, and the only DNA on it was hers. Williams' motives for her lies remain unclear. At her trial, the judge stated that no psychiatric explanation had been provided for her actions. Detectives believe that without their intervention, Williams' lies would have escalated further. They also expressed concerns that her false allegations could deter genuine victims from reporting sex crimes. However, Cumbria Police assured genuine victims that they would be supported and emphasized that Williams' case was unique.