Barrow-in-Furness man accused of rape by ‘serial liar’ tells court his life was ruined

Jordan Trengove was accused of rape by Eleanor Williams, who has since been charged with perverting the course of justice.

Williams, 21, also claimed she was groomed and trafficked by a group of Asian men.

In 2019 she told police she was drugged by Mr Trengove while on a night out in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and he then raped her, her trial at Preston Crown Court heard on Monday.

The jury was told she made two further allegations that he came to her flat in Steamer Street, Barrow, threatened her, assaulted her and raped her again.

Giving evidence on Monday, Mr Trengove, who was 18 at the time the allegations were made, said he was annoyed when she accused him of rape.

He said: “Any male being accused of that would be annoyed.

“It can ruin your life and it has ruined mine.”

The court heard that after his arrest in May 2019, he was kept in custody until August that year, when the charges were dropped.

Being questioned about details of the night out before Williams claimed he raped her, Mr Trengove said: “I honestly can’t remember.

“I have tried to brainwash all this stuff out of my head because I am mentally ill because of it.”

Mr Trengove, who asked for two breaks during his evidence as he became emotional, said he had since had a son, but initially did not want anything to do with him because of Williams’ claims.

He said: “I didn’t want him to grow up thinking his dad was this so-called rapist.

“That’s what people say about me.”

Mr Trengove’s mother Kimberly Trengove told the court her son had been at home at the times he was alleged to have gone to Williams’ flat.

She said following the allegations someone spray-painted the word “rapist” across their wall and broke a window of the house where they lived.

“I had people threatening to come through my door and kill him,” she told the court.

At one point during her evidence Ms Trengove walked out of court, saying: “I can’t even stand to be in the same f****** room as that.”

Mr Trengove denied all of the allegations made by Williams.

Opening the case earlier this month, Jonathan Sandiford KC, prosecuting, said Williams was a “serial liar” who made allegations on a number of occasions between October 2017 and May 2020.

She is also accused of fabricating messages in which her alleged abusers, assailants and traffickers appeared to admit offences and in which she appeared to communicate with other trafficking victims.

The trial, expected to last ten weeks, resumed on Monday after a week’s break.

Williams denies seven counts of doing acts tended or intending to pervert the course of justice.