A fantasist who made up damaging false claims that he was raped by six innocent men has been jailed for eight years.
Liam Smith, 27, from Leeds, also known as James Smith and James Robertson, was convicted by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court between 2018 and 2021 of seven charges of doing acts tending to or with intent to pervert the course of justice to disturb.
The court heard how his victims became ‘suicidal’ and turned to ‘self-harm’ after the outrage and humiliation the lies had caused them, and how they had wasted around £10,000 of police time and resources.
Passing sentence, Judge Penny Moreland told him: ‘A number of them are saying their lives have been ruined by what you have done. Unsurprisingly, they all noticed a decline in their social and work lives and they all have difficulty trusting others as a result of the way you betrayed their trust.
‘Some of them complain of being suicidal, one turned to self-harm, one tried to commit suicide. They all talk about the outrage and humiliation of the experience you put them through.”
Liam Smith, 27, from Leeds, also known as James Smith and James Robertson, was convicted by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court of seven charges of doing acts tending or intending to pervert the course of justice between 2018 and 2021.
Newcastle Crown Court. The court heard how his victims became ‘suicidal’ and turned to ‘self-harm’ after the outrage and humiliation the lies had caused them, and how they had wasted around £10,000 of police time and resources
Passing sentence, Judge Penny Moreland told him: ‘A number of them are saying their lives have been ruined by what you have done. Unsurprisingly, they all noticed a decline in their social and work lives and they all speak of difficulties in trusting others as a result of the way you betrayed their trust.
She added: ‘Everyone talks about the pain of waiting for what would happen in the aftermath of your complaints. Some complainants had to wait what must have felt like a long time before being told the case would not proceed.
‘Everyone talks about the reputational damage that comes from people thinking that there is no smoke without fire and that mud sticks – even if what you said about it was a lie so that others would believe it.
“It also affects real victims who fear they won’t be believed because of what you did.”
The judge said police had given a conservative estimate that Smith’s actions had resulted in £10,000 of resources being used to investigate.
Victim statements from the men were read to the court. One said: ‘These false accusations have turned my life upside down. I feel damaged by what he did to me.’
Another added: ‘When I was arrested I felt sick and numb and completely ashamed. Until that day I never felt suicidal.’
Another man said he felt like a criminal even though he had done nothing wrong.
The judge also said: ‘A number of them complain of being suicidal, one turned to self-harm, one tried to commit suicide. They all talk about the outrage and humiliation of the experience you put them through.”
Anne Richardson, prosecuting, told the court during the trial: ‘The Crown’s case is that this defendant made a number of rape allegations against several men, all of which were false and therefore he lied to the police and launched a series of investigations these were not only unnecessary and time-consuming, but also caused terrible suffering and fear to the innocent men he accused.
“The Crown submits that making allegations of a sexual nature is such a serious matter, given the damage to a person’s reputation and family life, that if those allegations are false, the repercussions and consequences are profound.”
‘The Crown alleges that here is a very troubled young man, who must have essentially real problems separating the wheat from the chaff, fact from fiction, and that, for whatever reason, perhaps his latent desire for attention , perhaps because he is a fantasist, he has caused these six men to be arrested, interrogated, detained and subjected to an intrusive police investigation, causing them to suffer enormous fear and shame, when in fact they are innocent men, who did nothing have done anything other than engage in lawful sexual acts. activity with a fully consenting man. It’s up to you to decide.’
Sam Faulks, defending, said Smith, of Armley Ridge Road, Leeds, has autism.
If you or someone you know may be struggling with thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988.