The victim was dragged into a cellar where he was attacked
Two men have been jailed for their involvement in a Snapchat ‘honey trap’ in which they beat a man with baseball bats.
The victim was assaulted after being lured to a property in Batley during a conversation with a 16-year-old girl on Snapchat.
Adeel Abbas, of Park Croft, Batley, was jailed for nine years.
Richard Bereczki, of Park Croft, was jailed for seven years and two months.
Leeds Crown Court heard that on May 30, 2019, the 25-year-old man went to the property on Carlinghow Lane where the girl told him to go into an upstairs bedroom.
One inside, he was met by four men armed with baseball bats and the girl locked the front door.
The victim was dragged into a cellar where he was attacked, leaving him covered in blood. His wrists were bound with cord and he was told he was going to be taken to the moors.
Christopher Dunn, prosecuting, explained that the man was taken outside and was about to be bundled into the back of a car but managed to escape.
He ran to a car and the driver stopped to help him after she saw him covered in blood wearing just a pair of jogging bottoms.
The man had missing teeth and the right side of his face appeared to be “deformed” from the attack.
He was driven to a shop on Ealand Road where he was helped by members of the public who called police.
The man suffered multiple injuries to his head and body including a fractured leg. He was taken to hospital.
The victim told police what had happened to him but he was too scared to name his attackers. After detectives assured that he would be protected, he identified Abbas and Bereczki.
It was heard that the motive was a dispute over drugs.
Abbas pleaded guilty to wounding with intent. He also pleaded guilty to an offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to an attack on a man in a Batley nightclub committed while he was on bail awaiting trial.
Bereczki also pleaded guilty to wounding with intent.
The teenage girl pleaded guilty to false imprisonment.
Mr Dunn said: “The prosecution case against her is that she was the honeytrap. The lure to get (the victim) to the house where he was brutally assaulted, and that is what happened.
“The prosecution accept that she did not know it was going to happen. She was very young and naive.”
In a statement, the victim said he was unable to find work and could no longer play sport due to his injuries. He also revealed that he continues to live in fear of his attackers.
Ben Campbell, for Abbas, said the defendant committed the offences at a time when he was using drugs and is sorry for what he had done.
Mr Campbell said: “This was the biggest mistake of his life.”
Neil Fryman, for Bereczki, said his client pleaded guilty on the basis that he did not join in the violence.
He said Bereczki, Abbas’ neighbour, was recruited as a lookout and also used his mobile phone to light up the cellar during the attack.
Mr Fryman added: “Of course, he was involved in a joint enterprise and he will take his share of the blame.”
Judge Simon Phillips QC told the pair: “This was a sustained and brutal assault.
“There was deliberate targeting of a vulnerable victim who was trapped in a locked house, having been lured there.”
“You intended to cause him more serious harm. You intended to take him to the moors. He was fearful as to what was going to happen to him.
“Abbas, you orchestrated this attack.”
Yorkshire Post reported that Abbas was jailed for nine years. Bereczki was jailed for seven years and two months. The girl, now aged 17, was made the subject of a 12-month supervision order.
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