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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Jon Harris & Alahna Kindred

Mum-of-three let family home be used as drugs gang torture chamber for kidnapped man

A mum-of-three allowed her family home to be used as a torture chamber for a gang after they kidnapped a man.

Jennifer Baker, 35, was jailed after Kane Aitchison, 30, was abducted and held hostage in her property in Manchester for 12 hours.

Kane was beaten and stripped by eight men before boiling hot water was poured over his torso and genitals, Manchester Crown Court heard.

He was told he would only be released once a £100,000 ransom had been paid but when he said he had no money he was tied to a chair and had his hands and feet bound with a jumper wrapped around his neck.

The kidnappers threatened to inject the victim with heroin in a bid to ''turn him into a junkie'' before they force-fed him tablets he believed to be rat poison.

Baker was initially charged with blackmail, kidnap, false imprisonment and causing grievous bodily harm (Jennifer Baker/ Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)
Baker had allowed the property to be used in the kidnapping in return for drugs, police learned during their investigation (Jennifer Baker/ Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)

They also put him in fear of being raped before locking him inside a wardrobe.

Kane escaped the next morning after biting through his bindings and sneaking past a sleeping guard who was armed with a hammer.

He fled the property and was later treated in hospital for burns.

Police investigating the attack found Baker had allowed the property to be used in return for drugs.

Baker admitted assisting an offender (Jennifer Baker/ Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)
Baker's lawyer called for her to be jailed (Jennifer Baker/ Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)

As the victim was being tortured she was heard asking the gang if they had any narcotics to give her.

At Manchester Crown Court she admitted assisting an offender and was jailed for 18 months.

Kane was bundled into a car outside his home by two men in November 2019 and taken to Baker's house against his will.

Alaric Bassano, prosecuting, said: ''At this house, he was imprisoned and assaulted over a number of hours. Demands were made that unless he handed over a six-figure quantity of cash, he would be gravely injured if not killed.

Baker is a mother of three (Jennifer Baker/ Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)

''He was assaulted in the kitchen and living room. He was punched in the face, dragged around rooms downstairs, kicked, stamped on, struck with a chair and had his head struck against a wall.

''He was tied to a chair in the kitchen, his hands were bound with the cord from a set of hair clippers, his feet were bound with rope and a jumper wrapped around his neck whilst his face was covered with a sheet."

He continued: "'When Mr Aitchison did not relent, the boiling water was poured over his torso and his genitals. A sock was inserted in his mouth and fixed in place with Sellotape which caused him to struggle for his breath. He feared he was going to suffocate.

"The victim was taken upstairs, tied up and locked in a wardrobe. The following morning, after 12 hours of imprisonment, he bit through his bindings, forced open the wardrobe door and tried to escape through the bedroom window. When that failed he ran out of the house, avoiding a hammer-wielding gaoler and sought help from passers-by. He suffered significant injuries, including burns.''

Mr Bassano added: '''Whether or not Baker was herself an offender, she was being recruited or used in a way which exploited her own addiction to drugs. She was the occupant of the premises and was present whilst the underlying offence was being committed and the use of her premises was vital to the commission of that offence.

''But on the other hand, she had not intended or planned for this to happen, she was being exploited by others who imposed themselves on her and she was fearful.''

Baker who has since moved to Bolton was initially charged with blackmail, kidnap, false imprisonment and causing grievous bodily harm with intent but her not guilty pleas to those charges were accepted. Five men are due to be sentenced later over the kidnap.

In mitigation for Baker's defence, Ian Metcalfe called for his client to be jailed saying it would provide an opportunity for her to get herself clean.

He added: ''If this house was not available then they would have found another house in which someone else would have been preyed upon. She was targeted by others because of her obvious weaknesses and vulnerability and she was exploited by very dangerous individuals.

''She should have said 'no' but that was never going to be accepted and she was not up to the task to say 'no' in any event. She has never prospered and has had a most wretched life.''

Sentencing Judge Elizabeth Nicholls said: ''This group of men used your house to imprison Kane Aitchison, torture him and subject him to degrading violent treatment. It is right to note that you were to a degree as much a victim as he was. The people who came to your address undoubtedly used you as they knew you would put up no resistance when they arrived at your door.

''It is not as if you invited them to your house but you simply had little choice in the matter. You had no part in the violence but of course, you were present when you heard some of the violence being inflicted. I hope when you are released you will be drug-free and that this time in custody will give you the support you need to turn your life around.''

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