Police hunting runaway mother who tortured her two children into inventing fantasy claims about a satanic sex cult run by their father
Police are hunting a runaway mother who tortured her two young children into inventing claims that they were abused by a Satanic sex cult run by their father.
A specialist police child abuse team is investigating Ella Draper, 42, and her partner Abraham Christie after they forced her two children to lie about sexual abuse and ritual torture in Hampstead, North London.
Dozens of innocent people were falsely named as paedophiles as part of their online campaign.
A specialist police child abuse team is investigating Ella Draper (pictured left) and her partner Abraham Christie (right) after they forced her two children to lie about sexual abuse and ritual torture in north London
__________________________________________________________________________
Draper was in the middle of a battle with the children’s father, Ricky Dearman, 46, over access arrangements when she falsely accused him of sexual abuse, which resulted in him receiving death threats.
Draper, who is now believed to have fled abroad, is wanted for questioning by police over the false allegations which she continues to make in online videos and articles, sparking fears of vigilante attacks.
A judge last week branded her claims that her children’s father was leading a 100-strong Satanic paedophile ring based at Christ Church Primary School in Hampstead as ‘utter nonsense’.
Mrs Justice Pauffley named and shamed Draper and Christie in a written ruling on care proceedings brought by a local council and said their internet campaign about the cult was ‘evil’ and ‘baseless’.
The judge completely cleared Mr Dearman and all others named in the campaign of any abuse and called the material published on the internet ‘nothing more than utter nonsense’.
‘I am entirely certain that everything Ms Draper, her partner Abraham Christie and the children said about those matters was fabricated,’ she said. ‘The claims are baseless. Those who have sought to perpetrate them are evil and or foolish.
The judge also suggested the couple may have fed the two youngsters, aged eight and nine, cannabis soup to gain their compliance.
Mrs Justice Pauffley ruled: ‘Torture is the most accurate way to describe what was done by Mr Christie in collaboration with Ms Draper.
‘Both children were assaulted by Mr Christie by being hit with a metal spoon on multiple occasions over their head and legs, by being pushed into walls, punched, pinched and kicked.
‘Water was poured over them as they knelt semi-clothed.’
More than four million people around the world have viewed the online material and police were forced to protect worried parents at the gates of Christchurch Primary School where the ‘main action’ was alleged to have happened, the court heard.
The ‘grotesque’ claims against ‘blameless’ people included drugged babies being sent from abroad by courier services such as TNT and DHL to London and then sacrificed.
The pair claimed cult members drank their victims’ blood and danced around with the babies’ skulls.
At least seven schools were named, a swimming pool identified as a meeting place and ‘rituals’ were alleged to have been performed at a McDonald’s fast food restaurant.
The children’s father, Mr Dearman, whose three-year relationship with Draper ended acrimoniously in 2007, was falsely said to be the leader of the cult, and teachers, police and even a priest to be among its more than 100 members.
Draper was in the middle of a battle with the children’s father Ricky Dearman (pictured) over access arrangements when she accused him
____________________________________________________________
The judge said: ‘Many of those individuals are now living in fear because they have been identified on the internet as abusers of children and their contact details including telephone numbers, home and email addresses have been published.
‘Several of those implicated have received malicious, intimidating phone calls and emails at all hours of the day and night from all over the world. For example – “We’re coming for you. You paedo scum”.’
The two children, who are now in care, were repeatedly named in the internet campaign and films of them uploaded to the internet ‘with flagrant disregard for their welfare interests’.
Mrs Justice Pauffley was asked to investigate by social services bosses in care proceedings brought by Barnet council after the two children were said to be at the centre of the cult’s abuse.
But the judge said they were in fact forced by Draper and Christie to ‘provide concocted accounts of horrific events’ in filmed mobile phone recordings and to lie to police when interviewed after the allegations were brought to the attention of officers in September last year.
She ruled that the youngsters’ ‘fantasy’ accounts of abuse stemmed from ‘relentless emotional and psychological pressure’ by Draper and Christie, who beat them into concocting stories.
In the online video clips the children falsely accused their father of leading the cult – but later confessed to police that they had been forced to lie.
In a damning 22-page judgment, High Court judge Mrs Justice Pauffley ruled that the children had been ‘tortured’ and ‘brainwashed’ by Draper and Christie.
Pictures emerged last week of both yoga teacher Draper and Christie, who has a criminal record for violence, dishonesty and drugs offences, cavorting semi-naked in a cannabis field.
Tests on Draper’s son and daughter, aged eight and nine, showed they had both ingested cannabis in the months before being into taken care.
Police are also hunting Sabine McNeill, a supporter of Draper, for alleged harassment.
But even after last week’s judgment, Draper made another video ‘witness statement’ on March 21 which she posted online, repeating false claims of ‘rape, sodomy, murder and cannibalism’ against exonerated individuals.
As a result of the judge’s findings and the material that continues to be published online, police have launched two investigations.
Met detectives in Camden and Barnet are investigating the alleged harassment of the parents and school pupils.
In a group email to the parents on March 24, police said of Draper and McNeill: ‘Once found, they will be arrested and questioned.’
The Met’s Child Abuse Investigation Team based at Barnet is also investigating Draper and Christie.
Draper, who is believed to have fled abroad, is wanted for questioning by police over the false allegations
______________________________________________________________________________
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘Following the ruling made by the High Court and comments made by the judge, officers are investigating whether any offences of child abuse have taken place.
‘We would advise members of the public not to forward or share material on the internet that they believe is related to this enquiry.
‘No arrests have been made at this time. Enquiries are ongoing.’
Police attempted to arrest Draper on February 12 but were denied entry to her Hampstead home and three people escaped out of a back window.
In her March 21 video, Draper, who is originally from the city of Rostov in southern Russia, says she was ‘driven out of the UK under threat of kidnap or worse’ and accuses Mrs Justice Pauffley of ‘treason’.
Christie, who was recently cautioned by police for assaulting his own adolescent son, briefly appeared outside the Royal Courts of Justice on February 17 but did not take part in the court case.
Their supporters continue to target the school and church attached to it.
On Sunday a mob screamed ‘paedophiles’ at parishioners attending morning service.
One woman who had her name, address, contact details and the name of her child posted online, said: ‘This is a living nightmare without end.
‘It really does beggar belief and adds insult to injury that even after the detailed court judgment Draper still has the audacity to be fuelling the fire by repeating false allegations against us all.
‘There are more and more vigilantes coming on board instead of this dying down.
‘We have all had abusive telephone calls and emails accusing us of ‘killing babies’ and being ‘paedophile scum’.
‘I was given a panic alarm by the police six or seven weeks ago and am enquiring about a fire-proof letterbox.
‘We are having to be very aware of who is hanging around the school and our houses.
‘The thing that we are most angry about is that our children’s details have been published online.
‘The irony is that her children are now safe in care while ours are at risk due to the actions of her and her followers.’
Mr Dearman said that his reputation had been ‘shattered’ and called for tougher penalties against those who harass others online.
He said: ‘Currently, the criminal law is inadequate and disproportionate to the harm that has been caused.
‘The criminal law needs to be extended to include sufficient scope for arresting and dealing with offenders who subject others to the abuse, indignity and humiliation of material such as has been uploaded in this case.’
In a statement, the school said: ‘This has been a distressing and difficult time for all of us at Christ Church Primary School.
‘All members of the staff team continue to feel deep concern for the children at the centre of this very complex situation and sincerely hope they will go on to have every opportunity and success in the future.’