FAMILIES in an affluent area of North London once lived in fear after their names were posted online as part of an elaborate cruel hoax.
At the centre of the Hampstead Hoax – which accused innocent people of being part of a Satan-worshipping paedophile ring – was a woman called Ella Draper and her partner Abraham Christie.
Who is Ella Draper?
Ella Draper is a mother of two children who lived in North London and was at the centre of what some believe is Britain’s most serious online conspiracy.
Her story started in the 1990s, when the Russian-born art-history-graduate-turned-yoga teacher got married to a wealthy English banker and moved to Hampstead.
After they split up a few years later Draper started a relationship with an another man and they had two children.
Yet by 2014 they were locked in an ugly custody battle, with allegations of violence on both sides.
It was during this time that Draper became the woman at the centre of the Hampstead Hoax which left a trail of destruction and is still hurting people today.
In the summer of 2014, two children accused their father of running a Satan-worshipping paedophile ring.
According to them, their dad led a group of roughly 175 parents, teachers and religious leaders, whose demonic abuse was centred on their school and adjoining church in Hampstead, North London.
Scotland Yard became involved, after videos of the children’s testimony were sent to them.
However, police found no evidence of these outrageous allegations and the children took back their claims and instead told a different story.
They said they had been forced into making the false allegations by their mother, Ella Draper, and her partner, Abraham Christie.
However, by this point the Satan-worshipping paedophile ring allegations had been shared millions of times on the internet, giving rise to a widely shared conspiracy theory.
Names and contact details of innocent people alleged to have been part of this ring were posted online as part of a list of 175 alleged cult members in 2015.
Innocent families were subject to a campaign of abuse, with people threatening to kill them, set fire to their homes and even kidnap their own children.
In April 2015, a High Court judge ruled that the paedophile ring accusations were “entirely baseless” and added: “Those who have sought to perpetuate them are evil and, or foolish.”
Who is Abraham Christie?
After the break down of the relationship with her husband, Ella then started dating a new man, Abraham Christie.
Shortly after this time, the Hampstead Hoax started.
Christie is understood to be in his late 60s, but not much else is known about him.
Draper’s children allege he forced them into making up the false allegations about their father.
Neither Draper or Christie have ever arrested over the hoax allegations.
Where are Ella Draper and Abraham Christie now?
After the hoax was uncovered, both Draper and Christie fled the UK.
They haven’t returned to England since, and have lived in exile in Spain since 2015.
Draper’s children were taken into care then later returned to their dad.
Accused: The Hampstead Paedophile Hoax is on Channel 4 at 9pm on March 11, 2024.
