A conspiracy theorist who harassed parents and claimed they were part of a Satanic child abuse ring compared herself to Jesus Christ.
German-born Sabine McNeill was jailed at Southwark Crown Court in 2019 after she was found guilty of stalking four parents, including publishing their details online, promoting a petition against them and repeatedly making claims about 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.
Accused: The Hampstead Paedophile Hoax aired on Channel 4 yesterday (March 11), retelling the story of baseless claims made in 2014 that a Satanic paedophile ring was operating at Christ Church and the adjacent primary school in Hampstead.
The film explores the turmoil that four mothers went through after being caught up in the hoax and how they fought to get police to intervene to stop conspiracy theorists and those harassing them.
McNeill, who lived in Goldhurst Terrace at the time she was convicted, has since moved to Germany after serving just four years of her initial nine-year sentence.
Speaking to filmmaker Emily Turner, McNeill said in an interview: “I didn't accept any of the charges, I didn't accept the verdict, I cannot accept the verdict. All I can do is suffer. Suffer it, like Jesus Christ did.”
When asked why she felt so compelled to invest her life into the accusations made, she said: “When somebody cries for help and is nearly sinking, then you try to get them out of whatever they’re in, don’t you?”
Given the chance to reject her past beliefs, she stood by them, saying she still thinks a cult was operating in Hampstead.
Speaking about the children who were alleged to be victims, she said: “I think their lives were changed forever through their abuse beforehand.”
Despite her theories, and her debate that truth is an “individual experience”, a High Court hearing in 2015 found the claims of a cult to be false.
In contrast, Rupert Wilson Quaintance, an American conspiracy theorist who was also interviewed in Accused for his part in sharing the hoax, later admitted to the Ham&High that he is “distancing” himself from the matter and claims he was “in character”.
Accused: The Hampstead Paedophile Hoax can be streamed on Channel 4’s video-on-demand service.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here