Whitley Bay attackers sentenced to over 30 years behind bars

Four brutal captors who savagely tortured a man while holding him against his will have been jailed.

The vicious attackers now find themselves serving jail time after carrying out a prolonged assault on a man in Whitley Bay back in February 2020.

In what has been described by the leading officer as an “horrific ordeal”, the 27-year-old victim attended the address of Chelsea Wilson-Ford, 23, (below) on Esplanade on 21st February.

Upon arrival Jamie Barker, 28, (below left) and Rebecca McNally, 29, (below middle) were also at the address, with another, Lewis Herman, 25, (below right) showing up later on that same night.

That night, the quartet then proceeded to hold the victim captive and force him to endure a prolonged ordeal which included slashing him with a knife and axe, striking him with dumbbell bars and a sledgehammer, using pliers to break his toes, setting his head and feet on fire and putting their cigarettes out on him.

Our officers discovered the scene on 23rd February, when they attended the address shortly after 4am whilst carrying out enquiries in relation to a separate incident.

Once inside the address it was then they found the victim with serious injuries and alerted paramedics.

Barker, Wilson-Ford and McNally were arrested at the scene, with Herman being arrested a few days later.

It also transpired that the quartet had filmed parts of their torment and even posted their videos online.

Barker, Herman and McNally were subsequently charged with malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, while Wilson-Ford was charged with an offence of grievous bodily harm.

They pleaded guilty to the offences at Newcastle Crown Court and were back before the court yesterday (Wednesday) were they were sentenced by the Judge to a total of 31 years and six months imprisonment.

In a victim impact statement, read aloud in court, the victim said he feared he would never see his family again and thought he was going to be killed.

Detective Constable Michael Fawcett, the lead officer on the investigation, has praised the bravery of the victim.

He said:

“I have investigated a number of violent and life changing cases in my career but this one was a particularly horrific ordeal.

“The victim was forced to endure a prolonged attack and is now left with both the mental and physical scars of that day.

“He has shown bravery in supporting this investigation and hopefully this outcome brings him some comfort and he can continue to move on with his life with the support from his family.

“This has been a complex case and we are pleased that following the team’s dedication a conviction has been secured.

“These four offenders are now behind bars where they belong and our communities are a lot safer as a result.”

Barker, from Shiremoor, was sentenced to 10 years and three months.

Herman, from North Shields, was sentenced to 10 years and three months.

McNally, from Wallsend, was sentenced to nine years.

Wilson-Ford, from Whitley Bay, was sentenced to two years.