Traumatised victim of Sheffield kidnap plot has not been able to return home
The vulnerable 36-year-old man was threatened at knifepoint on a car park and forced to walk to a nearby flat in Waterthorpe in June last year.
APPEAL: Man knocked unconscious in front of girlfriend in street attack in Sheffield Once inside, his abductors threatened their victim – telling him they were going to stab him and leave him for dead.
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Hide AdThey then forced him to a cashpoint and made him withdraw money before ordering him to take them to his own flat, where they took more money and made the man take Class A drugs against his will.
Whilst there, they also threatened their victim’s pet dog by holding a knife to its throat.
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Hide AdAfter a number of hours the victim managed to escape and raise the alarm when his captors left his flat to order drugs from a nearby phone box.
Liam Seeley, 22, of Ochre Dike Close, Waterthorpe and Alison Ellis, 54, of Hill Top Crescent, Waterthorpe, were found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and robbery after a trial. Seeley, who was jailed for 12 years, was also found guilty of making threats with a bladed article.
Ellis was sentenced to nine years behind bars. DC Trish Sidaway said: “This was a lengthy and traumatic incident for the victim.
“As well as having threats made against his own life, he also saw his beloved pet threatened and his home ransacked.
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Hide Ad“He has been left highly distressed by the incident and has not been able to return home. It has changed his life. “I am extremely satisfied with this result, the sentence reflects the severity of the crime and I hope it sends a message that this type of criminal behaviour will not be tolerated in the city.”