Monday, May 19, 2008

Surprise, surprise: Polish beauty jailed kidnapping and torture

A Polish beauty who lured her former boyfriend into a torture trap has been jailed for six years.

The two men who held him captive and tortured the victim will both spend the next eight years behind bars.

Karolina Fedyna sweet-talked Lukasz Matysek to her flat in Hove with the promise of sex and a reconciliation.

But the real motive on her mind was revenge after the 20-year-old left her without paying a debt.

Mr Matysek was beaten with baseball bats, burned with cigarettes and cut with a knife during his 24-hour ordeal.

At the same time a party was taking place in the next room and revellers were pressured into joining in the assaults.

Toby Fitzgerald, prosecuting, said Fedyna and Mr Matysek lived together in London in 2006.

He owed her ?150 for rent after they split up and Fedyna moved to a flat in Brunswick Place, Hove.

She was intent on getting her money back and lured him into visiting her with the promise of re-starting their sexual relationship.

Fedyna greeted him with a kiss on the doorstep on June 2 last year, and led him into what appeared to be an empty flat.

When he emerged from the bathroom he was confronted by her by her new boyfriend Konrad Kornatowski, 25, and Bartolniez Ziaja, 25, who also both lived there.

Kornatowski, who was jailed in Poland for being a prostitute's pimp, grabbed Mr Matysek.

He was bound with duct tape and beaten at first every ten minutes and then every hour until the next morning.

He was shoved under a table while Kornatowski, Fedyna's new boyfriend, celebrated his 'name day' with a party in the flat.

Mr Matysek was brought out from time to time and beaten as part of the entertainment and others were encouraged to join in.

Fedyna slipped into a masseuse outfit and posed for saucy pictures during the party.

Mr Matysek's attackers forced him to hand over his bank card and PIN number and withdrew cash from a machine in Western Road, Hove.

His attackers were caught after they ordered him to phone a friend to get more money put into his account.

The friend became suspicious and called police who raided the flat the next morning.

Because he was tied and his eyes were covered Mr Matysek could not identify exactly who had tortured him.

Fedyna, Kornatowski and Ziaja pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and blackmail at an earlier hearing and were sentenced at Hove Crown Court today.

Selwyn Shapiro, defending Kornatowski, said: "These offences were completely inexcusable but stem from an affair of the heart.

"This was a curious love-triangle and that may explain why he behaved in the way he did."

Tony Loader, defending Fedyna, said she had tried to stop the attacks on Mr Matysek when she thought he had had enough.

Louise Sweet, defending Ziaja, said he had only been in England for a few weeks and knew nothing about the plan to torture the victim before it happened.

Judge Anthony Niblett told them: "I am fully satisfied that you two men were the first to use violence towards Mr Matysek.

"You continued to use violence throughout the period he was held captive.

"You are both responsible for imprisoning him, tying him up, beating him repeatedly yourselves and torturing him."

Detective Constable Andrea Stroud, one of the investigating officers, said: "This was a just sentence and I am sure that the victim will be pleased with the outcome."
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