THE trial of a woman accused of making false claims of trafficking and sexual assault is due to begin tomorrow.
Eleanor Williams is facing eight charges of perverting the course of justice in relation to claims made to police.
The 21-year-old, of Teasdale Road on Walney, is due to stand trial at Preston Crown Court. It is expected to last 10 weeks.
The charges relate to five men, including a man from Barrow who was accused of rape and sexual assault on three separate occasions.
Another man was also accused of rape and three men were accused of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
She is said to have made the false claims to police between between October 20 2017 and May 22 2020.
It is also alleged that she 'fabricated evidence' while on remand in prison at HMP Styal in Cheshire between May 28 and November 23 2020.
It is alleged that she did a 'series of acts' to try to 'diminish the strength of the prosecution case' between those dates which had a tendency to pervert the course of public justice.
She has denied all wrongdoing.
The defendant has been forced to wait more than 18 months to face trial since she was first arrested over the alleged offences.
The trial is understood to have been delayed because of the pandemic and other issues.
Several other trials have faced delays due to the backlog caused by Covid-19, with other venues repurposed to host court hearings.
PHOTOS: COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION OF SINGAPORE SINGAPORE – Three online retailers have been caught using misleading features to influence shoppers by Singapore’s consumer and competition...