I was raped by my ‘best friend’ – he tried to hide his crimes after sinister messages but my bold plan caught him out
PRESSING record on her phone and carefully placing it in her bag, Ellie Wilson nervously approached the man who raped her.
The student and athletics champion hoped to capture former “best friend” Daniel McFarlane confessing to his horrific crimes after the monster denied it multiple times.
McFarlane, from Inverness, Scotland, attacked Ellie – who has waived her right to anonymity – between December 2017 and February 2018.
Afterwards, he claimed no one would believe her and later forced a friend to delete messages where he admitted having done “despicable” things.
In her secret 2019 recording, she asked McFarlane why he lied about committing the attacks and he replied: “We’ve already established that I have.”
Last July, he was sentenced to five years in prison for two counts of rape and attempting to defeat the ends of justice after a trial at the High Court, in Glasgow.
Ellie, now 25, told The Sun, that she initially “couldn’t accept what Daniel had done” and was being “manipulated” by her former friend.
She said: “I found strength when I had a bit of time away from him and decided I needed concrete proof of the rape because he would go between saying he raped me and saying he never raped me at all.
“He tried to convince me it was all in my head and gaslit me. For my own mental health, I knew I needed to record him admitting what he did.
“I was honestly terrified. I was worried he was going to think something was off, get suspicious and find my phone.
“Later, while listening to it, I thought ‘My goodness, it actually worked’ and it became really, really important evidence in court.”
‘Best friend’ to monster
Ellie met McFarlane through student athletics in 2017, describing how they “pretty much became best friends” straight away before he became her coach.
After the harrowing attacks, however, she was left in utter disbelief about what had happened and cried herself to sleep.
She explains how she tried to cut off contact with McFarlane and during that time, he admitted what he had done to a friend.
The court heard he texted the friend to say he had done “despicable” things, before pressuring them to delete the messages.
McFarlane made no admission after being found guilty and continues to deny wrongdoing.
Ellie describes her relationship with him as “emotionally manipulative” and said she could spend long periods of time without speaking to him, only for McFarlane to “worm his way back into my life”.
Cruel twist
In 2019, the emotional toll of what she went through led to a suicide attempt, which required a hospital stay and medical care.
Months later, Ellie decided to secretly record McFarlane admitting to what he had done. In court, he claimed they were “false admissions”.
Transcript of Ellie's secret recording
BRAVE Ellie Wilson managed to elicit a confession from rapist Daniel McFarlane. Here is what was said:
Ellie said: “Do you not get how awful it makes me feel when you say, ‘I haven’t raped you’ when you have and you say I’ve made up stuff… [McFarlane interrupts]”
McFarlane: “Ellie, we’ve already established that I have, but the people who need to believe me, believe me.”
Ellie: “But they are believing a lie…”
McFarlane: “And I’ll tell them the truth one day but not today.”
Ellie: “Will you tell them the truth about what you’ve done to me?
McFarlane: [Indecipherable]
Ellie: “How do you feel about it?”
McFarlane: “I feel good knowing that I’m not in prison.”
She reported McFarlane to the police in 2020 and he was suspended from the University of Glasgow, which they both attended.
Later, Ellie discovered he had been able to enrol at The University of Edinburgh – while he was awaiting trial – after seeing a photo of her attacker at a student sporting event on Facebook.
“I had stopped athletics after reporting Daniel because I was worried about running into him,” she said.
“Then while looking on social media, I saw his photo from an event where he was wearing a University of Edinburgh vest.
“I assumed the university didn’t know so I emailed them to warn them. I was worried about other female students becoming victims.
“Edinburgh came back to me to say they already knew and had been made aware of it, yet they still decided to let him in.”
In a public statement, The University of Edinburgh said: “Our admissions process does not require applicants to disclose any criminal convictions or ongoing investigations at the point of application.”
They added: “The strength of feeling around these issues is something the university fully understands.
“We will continue to listen to views on what changes can be made to refine our processes, and help make sure that all students feel safe and protected.”
‘Saw his face on every man’
Not only that, Ellie was then living and working in Edinburgh – and feared their paths could cross.
She said: “It felt like such an injustice. I couldn’t do anything, I was struggling, I had PTSD and life was difficult, while he was able to start again.
“Before he was sent to prison, whenever I went out in public I would see his face on the faces of other men in street and freeze.
“I was getting really derailed and was convinced I was seeing him. I would get into real states, which were much worse knowing he was nearby.”
In court, Ellie gave evidence behind a screen to avoid having to see McFarlane but upon at sentencing sat in the public gallery.
“Going to court was absolutely terrifying, I had to get medication to lower my blood pressure,” she said.
“At sentencing, I knew he would be able to see me but I needed to go for closure and for most of the time his back was to me.
“When he was put in handcuffs and led away, I could see he was going to look at me so I turned my head away.”
Beast caged
McFarlane was put on the sex offenders register for life and was sentenced to five years in prison – a sentence Ellie was not entirely happy with.
“If he had acknowledged what he did and apologised I would have been happy but he painted himself out to be the victim,” she said.
“Everything I went through in court with the lies he told and the way he acted put me through additional pain and trauma.
“But I’m enormously relieved he’s in prison. I used to struggle to be in public but now I feel a lot less scared.”
How to get help
THE 24/7 Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Line, run by Rape Crisis England & Wales, is a free phone and online chat service for anyone aged 16+ in England and Wales who has experienced something sexual that they didn’t want, didn’t consent to or are feeling confused about – no matter when or where it happened.
The Support Line is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for victims and survivors of any gender. Specialist staff are there to listen, answer questions and offer.
For help, call 0808 500 2222 or visit: www.emotional support.247sexualabusesupport.org.uk.
Since then, Ellie has been raising awareness on social media – one tweet alone received 26,000 likes and 1,000 retweets – but it hasn’t shielded her from the cruelty of online trolls.
Ellie said: “When I read comments from people denying what happened and saying ‘I bet he was innocent’ it was upsetting because it felt like I was being manipulated and abused all over again.
“But I try to focus on the positive, I’ve had an overwhelming response and support including some who thanked me for making sure one less rapist is on the streets.”
Ellie also made freedom of information requests that revealed it was ‘common practice’ for students alleged of sex abuse to transfer between universities in Scotland.
She also found that universities do no share the outcome of sex-related disciplinary hearings, which can allow offenders to attend new institutions without their past actions being known.
Ellie is now working with Universities Scotland and the Scottish Government to find ways to better protect students and ensure their safety and well-being.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123 or visit: www.samaritans.org.