- Salim Ullah, a father-to-be, was falsely accused of rape after helping a distressed woman home; the allegations led to his arrest and lasting personal and social damage before video evidence cleared him.
- The judge praised Ullah’s conduct as “exemplary.”
Salim Ullah, 33, a father-to-be, encountered Rachel Jones, 38, after her drunken night out on April 18, 2022. Finding her alone in the street, he offered to take her home. Jones, a mother of five, had reportedly been ejected from a taxi after arguing with the driver. Alarmed by her erratic and distressed behaviour, Ullah stopped his car and offered her a lift.
At the end of the journey, Ullah declined Jones’ attempt to hug him. She later returned home and falsely claimed she had been lured into a car and gang-raped by Ullah and two other Pakistani men.
After dropping Jones home, Ullah was traced through his number plate and arrested at his home in Stoke-on-Trent. He was held in a police cell for 30 hours. He was subjected to intrusive examinations and became the subject of rumours and judgement in his community before detectives concluded no rape had taken place.
Jones was jailed for two years on February 7 after admitting to perverting the course of justice at Chester Crown Court.
The false allegation severely damaged Ullah’s reputation. His family expressed outrage at the ease with which such claims could be made. “How could she be so cruel?” they said after the court proceedings last week.
Ullah was forced to move away from his area of Stoke-on-Trent because of the community’s reaction during the case. At Jones’ sentencing, he detailed the devastating personal and social impact the false allegations had on his life. Ullah described the personal toll.
“My wife was six months pregnant at the time and this allegation brought a lot of stress to us. I should have been fully there for my wife – however, we were worried about what would happen at the end of the case.
“I was worried that I might not be there for the birth of the baby and I just feel lucky I recorded the incident.”
He said the ordeal left him feeling “violated” and that he believed he was targeted “due to my ethnicity”.
Judge Steve Everett told the court: “Mr Ullah behaved in an exemplary fashion and did what many people would not have done and went to your aid. Sadly, the reason why many other people would not have gone to the aid of a lone woman distressed in the middle of the road without shoes is due to what happened to him as a result of his act of charity.
“There will be many people who will say: ‘I am not doing that just in case a serious allegation is made.’
“Your behaviour has consequences for people genuinely in need, and you were doing a disservice to those victims who have been genuinely attacked, assaulted and sexually assaulted and are left on the side of the road and are maybe left there because people who drive by say, ‘I am not taking the risk.’”
Admitting her guilt, Jones told the court: “I said things I should never have said. I am a silly woman. I am disgusting. I am sorry. I am sorry.”
Ullah had recorded the encounter on his mobile phone. The footage was later used by police to exonerate him and clear him of the charges.
A relative, who asked not to be named, said: “We’re just relieved that Salim has cleared his name. He did absolutely nothing wrong. He just tried to help someone in apparent distress and what this case shows is the danger of women like Rachel Jones concocting horrible false stories that could easily ruin lives.”
