Five men sentenced to 50 years in Ipswich torture case
All five pleaded guilty to the charges of grievous bodily harm between 5 October and 9 October 2019
Five people have been given sentences totalling 50 years following the torture of a man in Ipswich.
Brook Smith, aged 20, of no fixed address; Levi Gordon-Williams, aged 21 of Allenby Road, Ipswich; Connor Smith, aged 23 of no fixed address; Lukas Kupcikovas, aged 22, of Domonic Drive, Eltham, London; and 19 year-old Mark Robinson from Great Whip Street in Ipswich, appeared before Basildon Crown Court today (Friday 3 December) for sentencing.
All five pleaded guilty to the charges of grievous bodily harm between 5 October and 9 October 2019 at an earlier hearing, while Gordon-Williams also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply drugs as did Connor Smith.
The total jail sentence received was 50 years and one month. Individually, they received the following: Brook Smith received 10 years, five months for section 18 grievous bodily harm, Levi Gordon-Williams was given 9 years and 4 months for section 18 grievous bodily harm and an additional six months for possession with intent to supply drugs, Connor Smith was given 10 years and five months for section 18 grievous bodily harm and an additional two years for possession with intent to supply class A drugs, Lukas Kupcikovas was given 10 years and five months for section 18 grievous bodily harm and Mark Robinson received seven years again for section 18 grievous bodily harm.
The conviction follows an incident on 6 October 2019 on Bramford Lane in Ipswich when the victim, a man who is now 49 years old, was at his home address when a group of males turned up on his doorstep to demand where some missing drugs were.
The court at an earlier hearing in March 2020 heard how the group attacked him in his bedroom and then dragged him into the living room where they proceed to assault him further and tied him to a chair. They poured boiling water and sugar over his upper body and electrocuted him with cut wires.
The court also heard how the victim also had his back slashed. The offenders then put him in the downstairs bathroom and put him in the shower to wash him in an attempt to remove any forensic evidence and also shaved all his hair off, before returning him to the bedroom.
The group waited downstairs and would check on him every couple of hours and again assault him further. At about 830am on the 7 October the victim took an opportunity to run out the back door about and raise the alarm and got the incident reported to police.
Following police enquiries Brook Smith was arrested on 18 October in Clacton, Mark Robinson was arrested on 8 October in Ipswich, while Levi Williams was arrested in Clacton on 7 November 2019 as was Connor Smith, while Lukas Kupcikovas was arrested in the Eltham area of London on 20 November.
All five were subsequently charged with false imprisonment and grievous bodily harm.
DCI Holly Evans said: “This was clearly a horrific experience for the victim to experience and although he was kept for only a few hours the pain, terror and fear he must have felt is unimaginable. The victim is still recovering from his injuries but I am sure the mental scars will remain for a very long time”