Eleanor de Freitas

Eleanor Poppy Miranda de Freitas (26th June 1990 - 4th April 2014) was an English woman who made a False rape allegation against Alexander Economou in 2013.

Background
Eleanor de Freitas was born on 26th June 1990 in London. In 2008, she was diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder. Although put on medication, she had a mental breakdown in 2012 and claimed that her parents were trying to kill her and that her landlord had sexually assaulted her, resulting in de Freitas being institutionalised for a month.

Rape accusations
On 4th January 2013, de Freitas went to the Metropolitan Police and alleged that her boyfriend Alexander Economou had drugged, tied up, Waterboarded and raped her. Economou was detained for a day before the police discovered that de Freitas had sent him obsessive text messages the day after the alleged rape, indicating that she had accused him as revenge for rejecting her.

In August 2013, Economou prosecuted de Freitas for perverting the course of justice, causing de Freitas to have a panic attack when she received the summons, presenting compelling evidence that the encounter was consensual, including CCTV footage of him and de Freitas shopping for sex toys on the day of the alleged rape and text messages de Freitas sent to mutual acquaintances talking about the encounter.

In the time leading up to the trial, de Freitas's mental state slowly deteriorated, however she was still ruled fit to stand trial. On 4th April 2014, de Freitas committed suicide by hanging herself at her family home, three days before her trial was due to commence. The decision to prosecute de Freitas despite her clear mental issues was criticised after her suicide, although the government decided not to launch an inquiry.