Model ‘vindicated’ after her kidnapper is jailed
Lukasz Herba was handed a 16-year sentence after Chloe Ayling was held for six days in a farmhouse
A BRITISH glamour model was yesterday “vindicated” as the man accused of kidnapping her and offering her for sale as a sex slave on the dark web was sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison by an Italian court.
Lukasz Herba, 30, was charged with luring Chloe Ayling to a bogus photo shoot in Milan last July, then drugging her, bundling her into a sack and driving her to an isolated farmhouse.
The 20-year-old model was held for six days at the farmhouse in the northern region of Piedmont, with Herba allegedly demanding €300,000 (£265,000) for her release before having a change of heart and letting her go.
Herba, a Polish national, was promptly arrested and later described by Italian police as a “mythomaniac adventurer”.
Herba had allegedly told Ms Ayling that young women who were sold as sex slaves to buyers in the Middle East were discarded and “fed to tigers” once their “owners” tired of them.
Ms Ayling was not in court after a judge ruled in December that she did not have to give evidence.
Herba claimed throughout the trial that the kidnapping was fake, a ruse dreamt up by him and Ms Ayling to make money by advancing her modelling career.
Ms Ayling had met Herba in Paris months earlier, claiming to be the photographer for a fashion shoot, which he then cancelled.
His version of events was rejected outright by judges in Milan, who found him guilty of kidnapping and extortion and sentenced him to 16 years and nine months in prison.
Andrian Sington, her agent at Kruger Cowne talent management agency, told The Daily Telegraph: “This has been an incredible burden but this is vindication – her story is true. Chloe was worried about what he might do if he got out, so she is relieved. Now she can get on with her life.”
It is alleged that Herba’s brother, Michal Herba, 37, was also part of the plot. Italy is seeking his extradition from the UK, where he is in custody.
Paolo Storari, prosecuting, told the court that Lukasz Herba had bought ski masks and told his brother to scrub the boot of the car to clean traces of Ms Ayling’s DNA.
“I never hurt her. I was not violent with her,” Herba told the court.
“If she felt forced in any way, I am very sorry. But it certainly was not as Chloe described. I was in love and I was hoping that once her fame took off that she would repay me with feelings and we would share the money.”
The veracity of Ms Ayling’s account was questioned when it emerged that she had gone shopping with Herba and was spotted holding hands with him.
She told police Herba had promised to set her free.
Mr Pesce, her Italian lawyer, said he would seek half a million euros in compensation in separate proceedings.