Fourth man jailed following kidnap and torture investigation

Date published: 22 February 2012

A fourth man has been jailed following the abduction and torture of a Salford man.

Before Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Isaac Nathan Hodges (born 1/3/88) of Repton Avenue, Droylsden pleaded guilty to kidnap, blackmail and false imprisonment. Hodges was jailed for a total of 10 years.

Clifton Cameron, (born 23/8/77) of Mackenzie Street, Astley Bridge, Bolton was found guilty of kidnap, blackmail, false imprisonment and wounding with intent.He was sentenced to 11 and a half years at an earlier hearing.

In July 2010, two other men were jailed for their involvement. Ashley Clarke (born 27/12/87) of Barkway Road, Stretford and Alexander Valensky (born 21/7/87) of no fixed abode pleaded guilty to kidnapping, blackmail, wounding with intent, false imprisonment and attempted blackmail. Clarke was sentenced to 11 years in prison and Valensky was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.

The 27-year-old man's ordeal on Tuesday 10 November 2009 lasted for six hours.

The victim was leaving his flat at the Fusion Apartments in Salford in his car when he noticed a dark car with four men inside following him out. As he was waiting for the gates to open, one of the men punched through the passenger window of his car. The terrified victim sped away, colliding with the half opened gates on his way out. The offenders' car chased him along Middlewood Street and onto Oldfield Road. As the victim approached a Chinese warehouse, the offenders blocked him in, pulled him out of his car and bundled him into the back of theirs. The man was punched repeatedly and threatened by the offenders. One of the men bit the victim on his back.

A DNA sample taken from the victim's clothing where he had been bitten matched that of Ashley Clarke.

The offenders drove the victim to an address on Mossley Road in Ashton-under-Lyne, and put a bag over his head to prevent him from seeing where he was being taken. Two more men were waiting inside. The victim was thrown to the kitchen floor and tied up with cable. The offenders said they were to demand a ransom from the victim's family throughout the ordeal punched and stamped all over his body. They also poured water from a boiling kettle over him and stabbed him in the leg. They forced the victim to call his brother and tell him he needed cash urgently. The offenders met the victim's brother in Ardwick where they took cash off him. The victim only escaped to safety when he was left alone briefly. He managed to untie the cable around his hands and ran to a house next door.

He remained in hospital for three days.

Detective Constable Dan Worthington said: "The impact of this incident on the victim cannot be overstated, so it is only right that these offenders have today been given lengthy sentences. "Since the police received the report, we have had to work very hard on this investigation, with particular assistance from the Crown Prosecution Service and Forensic Science Service and I hope today's result will help the victim's recovery."