In 2019, the Offender Database reported that Sabine McNeill, then 74, of Camden, North London, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court.
Sabine McNeill was jailed for a total of nine years after being convicted of four counts of stalking and six counts of breaching a restraining order. The court heard that Sabine McNeill, a former scientist and mathematician, led a vicious three-year harassment campaign against families in Hampstead, falsely accusing them of being part of a “satanic paedophile cult” that allegedly murdered and ate babies.
The campaign originated from a “hoax” involving two children who were coerced and “effectively tortured” by their mother, Ella Draper, and her partner into making false claims against their father and others. Despite police investigations finding the allegations to be “utter nonsense” as early as 2015, Sabine McNeill published confidential police interviews and the personal details of 175 innocent parents, teachers, and religious leaders online.
The consequences of Sabine McNeill’s actions were described as “incalculable,” forcing innocent children to carry tracking devices and panic buttons, while their families faced constant death threats and physical intimidation. Judge Sally Cahill QC described Sabine McNeill as a “malicious, evil, and manipulative woman” who had ruined all everyday family life for those she targeted, ensuring the victims would never be able to search their own names online without seeing her “vile filth.”
Sabine McNeill’s nine-year sentence—eight years for stalking and one year for the breach of a restraining order—is believed to be the highest ever passed for such offences since the maximum penalty was increased. In addition to her prison term, Sabine McNeill remains subject to a lifetime restraining order prohibiting her from repeating the baseless claims that terrorised the Hampstead community.
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