Woman who claimed there was a ‘satanic abuse ring’ in Hampstead jailed for stalking and harassing parents
Sabine McNeill, who has been jailed for nine years. Picture: Metropolitan Police - Credit: Met Police
A woman who claimed there was a “satanic child abuse ring” in Hampstead has been jailed for nine years over stalking parents and breaching a restraining order.
Hampstead Underground and the High Street. Picture: Ken Mears - Credit: Archant
Sabine McNeill, 74, was jailed at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday. She led a vitriolic campaign claiming children at a school in Hampstead were being subject to child abuse.
She harassed four mothers at the school, who cannot be named due to legal reasons, by claiming they were members of a cult who cooked babies and ate them.
The details were published online, Southwark Crown Court heard, and parents were persecuted for their alleged involvement by McNeill and followers of the conspiracy theory.
A High Court hearing in 2015 found the claims of a satanic child abuse ring to be baseless.
At the trial which ended in December, McNeill, of Goldhurst Terrace, was found guilty of stalking four parents, including publishing their details online, promoting a petition against them, and repeatedly making claims about the sexual abuse online.
She was also found guilty of six counts of breaching a restraining order telling her not to make claims or references about the case, made at a hearing at July 18 2016.
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Her breach included leafleting a Church of England general Synod meeting in February with allegations of child abuse.
McNeill was cleared of 11 charges of breaching a restraining order.
She was sentenced to nine years in prison by Judge Sally Cahill.
