Police have confirmed they are hunting a number of individuals wanted in connection with the case that saw an “evil” mother take part in the torture of her own young children to force them to invent allegations of child abuse.
Last Thursday, a judge found mother Ella Draper and partner Abraham Christie had subjected two children, now in care, to “relentless emotional and psychological pressure as well as significant physical abuse”.
It follows “baseless” allegations made by the children, known as child P and Q, that a Satanic paedophilic ring was operating at Christ Church Primary School in Hampstead, led by their own father.
A judge last Thursday described the claims as a “fantasy” and “nothing other than utter nonsense”. She said: “The children’s false stories came about as the result of relentless emotional and psychological pressure as well as significant physical abuse.
“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.”
Dozens of innocent inviduals have seen their names and addresses published online alongside the untrue allegations and spread across the world, prompting fears of vigilante attacks. Many of those named have received abusive phone calls and death threats since the material became widely spread over the internet in February.
As a result of the judge’s findings and the material published online, police have launched two investigations related to the case – one into allegations of harassment and another into the findings that the children had been “tortured”.
The Ham&High has learnt that Ms Draper and Ms Sabine McNeill, her legal "supporter", are included on their most wanted list, with Ms McNeill wanted on suspicion of harassment.
An earlier attempt to arrest Ms Draper on February 12 saw police denied entry to her home and three people escape out the back window. Ms Draper has not been seen by the authorities since.
It is believed there was also an unsuccessful attempt to arrest Ms McNeill at her home in West Hampstead, although this was not confirmed by police.
Mr Christie, who the judge said has a background of criminality for drugs offences, violence and dishonesty, appeared outside the Royal Courts of Justice on February 17 but attempts to have him return to court failed.
With no arrests made, the handling of the case has been criticised by several of those innocent individuals who found their names published online.
Their lives “destroyed” by the false allegations, they described the support offered by the police as “useless”.
One parent who had their name, address, contact details and name of their child posted online, said: “They’ve missed opportunities to arrest people and they seem to just not be interested in what’s happening.”
Another added: “You ask them for help and they treat you like a nuisance. You forward them information relating to the case and they just ignore you. They have been totally useless.”
While the judgement saw many who originally believed in the accusations now brand it a “hoax”, a small group from across the country continue to target Christ Church, the primary school and the innocent people named.
On Sunday, the police stood outside Christ Church as a group of about 15 people staged a protest and repeated the retracted allegations made by the children. There have been further threats to attend school events and as of Wednesday there continued to be a police presence at the school grounds.
After being asked about the judge’s findings that the two children had been tortured by their mother and her boyfriend, a police spokesman said: “Following the ruling made by the High Court and comments made by the Judge, officers from the Child Abuse Investigation Team based at Barnet are investigating whether any offences of child abuse have taken place.”
Regarding the investigation into harassment, a police spokesman said: “Police in Barnet received an allegation of harassment on Thursday, 5 February concerning videos and articles posted on the internet about pupils and parents at a North London School.
“Detectives from the Metropolitan Police in Barnet and Camden are working together with the support of Barnet and Camden councils to investigate these allegations.
“No arrests have been made at this time. Enquiries are ongoing.”
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