Ella Draper

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Ella Draper is a British woman who, with her partner Abraham Christie, forced her children into telling a series of lurid stories about being abused by Satanists at a primary school in Hampstead, London.[1]

A series of videos showing the children making the false claims were leaked online, sparking a small-scale Satanic Panic during which the children were nicknamed the "Whistleblower Kids."

Origins[edit]

Draper met Christie in May 2014, following the deterioration of her relationship with the father of the children, Ricky Dearman. The following August, Draper, Christie and the children began a four-week holiday abroad that lasted until September 4; during this time, the two adults filled the children's heads with various bizarre and lurid fantasy scenarios of sexual abuse.

Police investigation[edit]

In September, Christie's brother-in-law reported the matter to the police.[2] A High Court Judgment, released later, summarises the claims made by the children:

The assertions were that babies had been abused, tortured and then sacrificed. Their throats were slit, blood was drunk and cult members would then dance wearing babies’ skulls (sometimes with blood and hair still attached) on their bodies. All the cult members wore shoes made of baby skin produced by the owner of a specified shoe repair shop.

Children, it was alleged, would be anally abused by adult members of the cult using plastic penises or “willies”.

Christ Church Primary School in Hampstead was said to be where the “main action” occurred but at least seven other local schools were named. East Finchley swimming pool was identified as one of the other meeting venues for the paedophile ring. Rituals were performed, so it was claimed, in an upstairs room at the McDonald’s restaurant where the “boss” allowed child sacrifice because he was a member of the cult. Human babies were prepared, cooked in the ovens within a secret kitchen and then eaten by cult members.[3]

Police investigated the alleged Satanic abuse but did not find any evidence to support the claims. The children were interviewed by the police, and revealed that Christie had taught them to make false claims about being abused by Satanists at school; they also described being physically abused by Christie himself.[2]

The story goes viral[edit]

Details regarding the allegations of Satanic abuse found their way online in January 2015.[4] In particular, a series of videos of the children making the claims, possibly filmed during the holiday abroad,[2] found their way across multiple websites.

Raid[edit]

On February 12 2015, police officers made a visit to Draper's home address but were denied access. The altercation ended with three people fleeing the building by climbing out of a window and vanishing from sight. To date, Draper has not been apprehended by authority figures.[2]

Court hearing[edit]

The case reached a family court hearing on 18 March. The judge ruled that the accusations of Satanic abuse were entirely baseless, and declared that Draper and Christie were guilty of torturing the two children. Dearman, the father of the kids, was declared innocent.[1][5]

On 10 February 2015, the High Courts of Justice granted an injunction that bans the publication of anything that would identify the two children (referred to by the Court as P and Q)[6] who were involved in the hoax.

External links[edit]

References[edit]