Alexander Economou (pictured) always vehemently protested his innocence

When a grieving David de Freitas appeared on BBC radio to complain that his daughter had been hounded to death by a callous private prosecution, his out-pouring of pain and loss was heartbreaking.

Who could not be moved by the obvious outrage, cloaked in quiet dignity, as he described how 23-year-old Eleanor, a bright and glamorous young woman, killed herself in April?

It was just three days before she was due to on trial for making a false allegation of rape, and the fear of giving evidence had, he said, left her a nervous wreck. Nothing, however, has been heard from the wealthy young man who she sensationally claimed had drugged and assaulted her in his Chelsea flat – until now.

And when you read what he has to say, you may well take a very different view about his role in this strange and disturbing tragedy.

What emerges is not just the terrible detail of a nightmare that so many men fear – of being falsely accused of rape, ostracised and fearful of jail. It also becomes clear in his compelling account of what truly happened between them that Eleanor, who had mental health issues, led a secret double life – one she would without doubt have feared being opened up to the scrutiny of the courtroom.

Alexander Economou, the 35-year-old son of a British-based Greek shipping tycoon, has always vehemently protested his innocence, but he says the taint of the accusations against him have been so persistent he has found it difficult to clear his name.

Alexander has received numerous death threats. He feared – and still fears – he may never escape the attack on his character, and says this – and only this – is why he chose to pursue a private prosecution of his accuser.

‘All I ever wanted to do was protect my reputation and prove beyond reasonable doubt that I did not commit such a heinous crime,’ he says with exasperation. ‘I wanted a single piece of paper from the court to show that she had lied. I was not being malicious or vindictive. I gave her every opportunity to recant before going ahead.’

Dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, Alexander looks every inch the well-to-do man he is. But he tells his story with such sincerity that it is hard to doubt him – and hard not to feel sorry for all involved. Eleanor emerges as a troubled woman, whose mental health issues were never properly addressed and who was driven by the fears and confusion of bipolar disorder.

This is not just a case of accepting Alexander’s word over that of a dead woman: CCTV images of him and Eleanor the day after the night of the alleged assault show them sharing kisses while shopping together in a lingerie shop. They appear completely at ease with each other.

Yet Alexander was arrested 11 days later. It would be another two tortuous months before he was told there was ‘insufficient evidence’ to proceed, a period so terrifying that he barely ventured out and lost half a stone in weight.

The police, he says, refused to look at video and text messages which would have exonerated him – evidence so overwhelmingly in his favour that the Crown Prosecution Service was later forced to agree with him, at which point it took over the case against Eleanor.

Quiet, serious-minded and confident, Alexander was born in London and educated at public school. He chose not to go to university, training and then working as a helicopter instructor before joining the family business. But the recent stress has led to an unaccustomed vulnerability.

He is only talking now, after being judged by the court of public opinion.

‘I want people to know my side of the story,’ he says. ‘I was basically at the wrong place at the wrong time. Ellie’s death is a tragedy that I don’t believe needed to have happened. If the police had investigated my case of harassment against her, things might not have gone so horrifically wrong.

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CCTV camera footage showed the couple sharing kisses in a store the day after she falsely claimed he assaulted her

‘I would have been happy if she had just been reprimanded. However, I was stunned when I heard about her death. Up until that point, I had so much resentment towards her, but at that exact moment I could feel no anger any more. I still can’t believe that she chose to die rather than tell the truth.

‘It was not something I could have foreseen. I agree she was in a corner, but I did everything possible to get her to stand down. I wish she would have been able to confess and still be alive today. I keep thinking about her family and how much they have suffered by the death of their only child.

‘The loss of a daughter is much worse than being falsely accused of rape and they are as much victims as I am. But no man should have to go through what I’ve had to. It shakes your trust in people. I’ve become a bit paranoid, to the extent I’ve installed microphones all over my flat.’

What Alexander calls his ‘living nightmare’ began in November 2012, when he met Eleanor at a mutual friend’s birthday party in London. Soon they were exchanging flirtatious emails and Facebook messages. He says: ‘At first it was just friendly banter and I gave her relationship advice after she complained that a man had dumped her. She offered to repay me with a massage and we arranged to meet up on December 23.’

Eleanor de Freitas (pictured left and right) as Alexander Economou knew her prior to her death

It was at this point their conversations took on a new and, for Alexander, faintly bizarre turn. ‘The night before our date she sent me a text saying she was at the house of “Madam” who was teaching her sexual technique,’ he says. ‘She asked what my biggest sexual fantasy was and said I should get plastic sheets for the bed, as she would be giving me a tantric massage.’

Alexander assumed it was just more saucy banter and thought no more of it. At least not until Eleanor arrived at his flat at 1pm one Sunday with a large bottle of oils she had mixed.

After sharing a pizza, she suggested a trip to Harrods to buy Christmas presents. At the Hermes counter, she took about £1,500 in cash from her purse. To Alexander, it seemed a great deal of money, particularly for a woman who worked in The Body Shop. Yet even that was not enough for what she wanted to buy. ‘Ellie asked me to get more money that she kept in a “secret” compartment of her car,’ he says.

‘There was about the same amount in the bundle and I did wonder why she was carrying so much with her. But I didn’t analyse it too deeply. I was definitely attracted to her. She was a very clever person with a great sense of humour.’ He became even more enamoured when they returned to the flat and settled into an evening together. ‘We listened to music and drank a bottle of cider each,’ Alexander continues. ‘Ellie had showered and was wearing one of my shirts. We started to fool around on the sofa.

‘We lit candles and she gave me a tantric massage, which involved the both of us naked and covered in oil. We had sex multiple times during the night and I definitely felt we had connected. She told me a lot about her life, including that she suffered from depression, and she texted her father at about 2am to say she was with me and safe.’

The next morning, Christmas Eve, Ellie texted a friend saying she had enjoyed ‘the best sex of my life’. Another read: ‘FYI, I am still at Ec’s flat, still’, and another said: ‘Yes I like Ec, a good match… we shall see what happens.’

Eleanor de Freitas, pictured, was charged with perverting the course of justice

Eleanor de Freitas was later discovered to be advertising 'tantric' services on the internet

It is hardly the behaviour of a woman who had been coerced or forced. But the most compelling and indisputable evidence of Alexander’s innocence was the visit they made that day to the Ann Summers store in Kensington High Street. He says: ‘Ellie said she needed to pick up a few things and we laughingly talked about getting her a sex toy. I thought it was just a lark, but once we got there she spent about £340 – mostly on costumes. We split the bill – Ellie paying again in cash – and I took half the goods home.’

CCTV footage shows the pair laughing together during the 25-minute visit. Alexander later learned that Eleanor texted a friend: ‘We’ve had huge fun together actually and we are still together doing last-minute shopping. Big THANKS for sort of being matchmaker.’

Again, there was no sign that she regretted their time together. On the contrary, Alexander received the following message that afternoon: ‘You are like the best kind of drug. One that is addictive…’

At home that evening, Alexander recalled her saying she used pseudonyms including Portia and Olivia for her sideline – a self-employed massage business. He decided to search the internet and within seconds found sexually charged pictures of Eleanor on websites where she offered ‘tantric’ services. ‘I had no suspicion at all that she had a secret life,’ Alexander says. ‘I was stunned. She looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, but there she was on what can only be called sex sites. The photos were suggestive and she was provocatively posed in next to nothing.’

But it was not this startling revelation that prompted him to end their liaison. Instead, it was a flurry of hoax suicide text messages that Eleanor sent him that evening. She said she was about to drive very fast on the most dangerous road in Britain, discussed her will, internet passwords, bank account PINs, and even details of her funeral. No one will ever know why she did such a thing.

Evidence of Eleanor de Freitas' inconsistent behaviour was so compelling the CPS stepped in and decided she would be taken to court

‘I was frantic. But when I called Ellie she just said not to worry and that everything was OK,’ Alexander says. ‘I was very angry. I said that I didn’t want to be with someone who would put me through such anguish. Up until then I honestly thought we were on the verge of something special. I didn’t need the drama.’

It was only the start of his ordeal. Alexander was at his father’s home on Boxing Day when he received a text from Eleanor’s cousin. It said: ‘How dare you do that to Ellie.’

A chill ran through him. ‘I had a very uncomfortable feeling that something bad was coming,’ he says. They exchanged messages, and he emailed links to the tantric websites to the cousin, who also unaware of Eleanor’s secret life, then apologised for the comments.

But the rumours were out: claims he had assaulted Eleanor, drugged her and wouldn’t let her escape from his flat had rapidly spread, not just among her friends, but among his too. Alexander decided to report her to the police for harassment.

He went to Chelsea police station but was arrested and held overnight in a cell. After his release he tried to get her to recant and was accused of trying to intimidate her.

‘The police were not interested in my version of what happened and it was two months before they dropped the case because of insufficient evidence,’ he says. But this did still not clear his name. ‘We live in an age when anyone can find out anything about you so quickly on the internet. I’m worried about my future and the fact that there are people who might still say “there is no smoke without fire”. That’s why I decided to take out the private prosecution.’

It cost him more than £40,000 in fees, but by December 5, 2013, the evidence of Eleanor’s inconsistent behaviour was so compelling that the CPS stepped in and decided that Eleanor would be taken to court.

Alexander remains disappointed by the police, whose refusal to listen to his side has, in his opinion, turned an unfortunate episode – fuelled by mental instability – into a tragedy.

‘I have complained to the Independent Police Complaints Commission about the behaviour of the police, who were completely hostile to me and refused to look into my complaints against Ellie,’ he says. ‘Although cases of false allegations are rare, they devastate lives.’

Alexander is determined to see something positive come from this, such as changes in police procedure, forcing them to deal even-handedly with both sides in rape cases.

He concludes: ‘I firmly believe that Ellie would have been better off had the police taken my complaint of harassment seriously and investigated. Perhaps she would still be alive today.’

A police spokesman said: ‘A complaint has been made which is being investigated internally. It would be inappropriate to discuss the matter further at this time.’