A COUPLE filmed themselves terrorising an intellectually disabled and hearing impaired young woman, repeatedly bashing her, videoing her in the shower and stalking her before pulling her out of another car at Charlestown and assaulting her again.
James Ryall, 37, and Crystal Rigg, 32, appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday where they pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company and intimidation after the DPP agreed to withdraw a number of more serious offences.
The pair, along with two others who have not entered pleas, waged a sustained and brutal attack on the intellectually disabled woman over a number of days in October 2020. The motivation for the repeated assaults is unclear, but court documents reference a $70,000 trust account and "retaliation" for the victim "breaking up" Rigg and Ryall.
The victim was driven to Springfield on the Central Coast on October 8 and a few days later Rigg and Ryall returned and assaulted her, throwing tennis balls at her face and punching her in the head.
Ryall placed his hands around the victim's throat and had to be physically restrained by one of the other attackers.
Rigg then recorded the victim in the shower without her consent, while two other videos show the victim being assaulted and abused by the group.
A few days later the victim was staying at Charlestown with one of the group who had assaulted her when that woman called Ryall and Rigg to tell them where the victim was. The victim became worried and said she wanted to leave but was told: "No you're staying here, I'll protect you."
The victim rang a friend who picked her up from the car park at Charlestown Square and CCTV later showed Ryall and Rigg driving and running around the car park as they desperately searched for the victim.
A short time later Ryall's vehicle pulled up alongside the vehicle the victim was in on the Pacific Highway at Charlestown and members of the group got out, took hold of the victim and dragged her into Ryall's car.
"Come with me... we wanna talk, we aren't going to hurt you," the victim was told.
But again she was assaulted and threatened, with one member of the group telling the victim: "You f---ing sit there and don't move. "If you're pregnant you'll be dead with the kid in your stomach".
Ryall drove to bushland near Wallsend and the victim was taken out of the car and assaulted by three members of the group.
Ryall then drove her home and threatened her not to call the police.
The victim was pushed into her front door and Rigg struck her a few more times before the group left.
An ambulance was called and the victim was treated for a number of facial injuries before being taken to hospital.
Ryall and Rigg were arrested at Gateshead on October 15 and police found the videos recorded on October 11 showing the victim showering and being assaulted.
When Rigg was arrested she said she understood the victim was deaf and "a bit slow" and believed she had a mental age of around eight or nine years old.
Rigg said the assaults were "retaliation" because the victim had "broken up" her and Ryall and admitted to uploading the video of the victim in the shower to a Facebook group chat.
Ryall, who was granted NSW Supreme Court bail last week, and Rigg will next appear in Newcastle District Court next month to get a sentence date.
If you're pregnant you'll be dead with the kid in your stomach.
One of the four said to an intellectually disabled woman after they pulled her out of a car at Charlestown.
