Man was strapped to walking frame & held against his will in Chelmsford

Four people have been sentenced over the incident earlier this year

Author: Dan GoodingPublished 6th Jul 2021

After a man was held against his will and strapped to a walking frame in Chelmsford, four people have been sentenced.

Videos were shared of the victim on Facebook Messenger and the group was tracked down on Linge Avenue.

Two have been jailed whilst the others got suspended sentences.

Man held against his will

Essex Police were called at around 9.30am on 4 February this year after a woman had received a number of videos on Facebook Messenger, showing the man cable tied to a walker designed for people with disabilities by his wrists and legs.

She was able to identify two other people in the videos as 24 year-old John McDonald and 50 year-old Phillip Setterington-Saveall (pictured).

They were identified as living at an address in Linge Avenue.

When officers went there at 1.30pm on the same day they were arrested with two other people – 34 year-old Trudy Saveall, also of Linge Avenue, and Lauren Rayner, 21, of Exmoor Close, Chelmsford,

They were later charged with false imprisonment.

They admitted these charges and were sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday 1 July.

Setteringhton-Saveall was jailed for four years with a further three years on extended licence, McDonald was sentenced four and-a-half years in prison, and Saveall and Rayner were both given a 16 month sentence suspended for 24 months.

Investigating officer PC Edward Bishop, from Maldon CID, said:

“This group of people kept the victim against his will.

“They subjected to him to an ordeal which left him with physical injuries but will no doubt have an impact on him psychologically.

“I hope this sentence will help him move forward.”

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