Trio who tortured coach facing longer jail terms
APPEAL COURT TO CONSIDER IF SENTENCES FOR ATTACKERS WERE LENIENT
THREE attackers who subjected a football coach to a horrific torture ordeal could have their jail sentences increased for being too ‘lenient.’
In a degrading onslaught which was posted on social media by his mocking attackers, Jordan Storey was assaulted with an axe, sledgehammer, knife, dog chain and dumbbell bar, was tied to a chair and had his hands and feet set on fire.
The 28-year-old also had the incorrectly-spelt word “nonse” sliced into his back - despite there being no suggestion he was responsible for any wrongdoing - before listening as the thugs discussed killing him, disposing of his body on the beach at Whitley Bay and framing him for rape.
Jamie Barker, Lewis Herman, Rebecca McNally and Chelsea Wilson-Ford were all locked up for the attack at Newcastle Crown Court in February.
Now three of them could be behind bars for longer after being referred to the Attorney General’s office to be reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
The cases of Barker, Herman and McNally have been referred to the Court of Appeal, meaning their jail terms could be increased.
Barker, 28, of Horton Avenue,
Shiremoor, North Tyneside, Herman, 25, of Hudson Street, North Shields and McNally, 29, of Stanley Street, Wallsend, all pleaded guilty to wounding with intent.
Barker and Herman were each jailed for 10 years and three months, while McNally was given nine years.
Wilson-Ford, 23, of The Esplanade, Whitley Bay, admitted unlawful wounding and was locked up for two years.
Her case was not referred to the Attorney General as that offence is not covered by the scheme.
The ULS scheme allows victims of crime, their families and the public to ask for a review of certain sentences they believe are far too low.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Storey had known Wilson-Ford for 10 years and she phoned him on February 17 last year saying her partner Barker had assaulted her.
The 28-year-old went to her flat and he and a friend confronted Barker and assaulted him but Barker made no complaint to the police.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Storey then stayed at the flat, on Esplanade, Whitley Bay, to protect Wilson-Ford.
He was assaulted but returned to the flat to look after his friend and he and the other four consumed alcohol into the early hours of February 21.
At some point the quartet, who had taken MDMA, began inflicting horrific violence on Storey.
Around 48 hours after the ordeal had started, in the early hours of February 23 last year, police attended Wilson-Ford’s bloodstained flat in relation to an unrelated matter and found Storey lying on a mattress badly injured. His skin was yellow as he had suffered acute kidney failure and he had a large number of injuries.
These included broken ribs, a broken nose, broke toe, numerous cuts to various parts of his body of varying depth including a dozen wounds to his forearm, extensive bruising to his face and all over his body, a deep cut to his thumb where the bone was visible, cigarette burns to his arm and hand and the incorrectly-spelt) word “nonse” had been carved into his back.
On Barker’s phone, the police found videos and pictures of the attack. There were also pictures on Herman’s phone and he had posted video of the violence on Facebook.
In a victim impact statement, Storey said: “The injuries I sustained are horrific and I genuinely thought they were going to kill me. I had accepted this was the end for me.
“All I could thing about was my children and family. I feared I would never see them again.
“Instead of killing me they decided to scar me for life and carve ‘nonce’ in big letters on to my back and degrade me for life while I was strapped to the chair.
“The footage was shared with almost everyone in my area and my friends and family have viewed how I was tortured. Being tortured was horrific.”
Storey, who now has PTSD, said he was no longer able to work as a football coach.