Lengthy jail terms for kidnap, torture
After being kidnapped, tortured and beaten almost to death, a woman says her life can never be the same.
Her words were heard yesterday at the High Court in Auckland as a trio found guilty of a raft of charges, including her kidnapping and attempted murder, were jailed.
‘‘What happened has changed me and my life irreversibly,’’ the woman said in a statement read by Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey.
’’The physical injuries still impact my day-to-day life. I know I am different. It eats me up inside ... I will never be the way I was before.’’
Julie-Ann Torrance sat alongside co-offenders Nicola Jones and Wayne Blackett who were all handed down jail sentences for their involvement in the crime in Dome Valley, Auckland, last year.
Justice Christian Whata sentenced Torrance to 16 years, seven months for charges which included assault with a weapon, sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and attempted murder.
Jones was sentenced to 13 years and one month for charges involving threatening to kill, assault with a weapon, attempted murder, injuring with intent.
Wayne Blackett, who had previously pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping, was jailed for 12 years, seven months.
All will have to serve at least halve of their sentences before they can apply for parole.
The victim, who was 19 at the time, was subjected to two vicious assaults where she was bound, Tasered, and had her hair cut off. She was also sexually violated, beaten with cricket wickets and a cricket bat, and had her head bashed with a hammer.
Her injuries have left her with brain damage and some paralysis.
‘‘There are permanent holes in my skull where I was hit with a hammer,’’ her victim impact statement said. ’’Because I know what happened I know I am not just another 20-year-old.’’
The sinister chain of events unravelled after the victim fell out with former friend Nicola Jones, after Jones began to believe the victim had an affair with her boyfriend.
Weeks before the incident the victim was targeted by members of the group, including sex-worker Cameron Hakeke, who Tasered her and cut off her hair. Torrance and Jones then drove the woman to the Bombay Hills, dropping her on the side of the road in the middle of the night where they told her not to come back to Auckland
Weeks later, Jones, along with friends Torrance, Michelle Blom and Jaclyn Keates, kidnapped the victim and subjected her to a degrading attack where her hair was hacked off, her finger stomped on until it broke, she was sexually violated and beaten with a cricket bat.
Blackett then arrived at the Glen Eden home and, along with Torrance and Jones, took the bound woman to Dome Valley north of Auckland. Blackett hit her on the head with a hammer several times after his efforts to choke and strangle her failed.
Keates pleaded guilty to her role in the attack and was jailed. Michelle Blom and Cameron Hakeke were both jailed last month for their involvement.