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7th March 2023
12:40pm GMT
Three young men have been jailed for a combined total of 35 years for the "vicious" six-hour torture of a man with knives, boiling water and a flame thrower.
Charlie Saunter, William O’Brien, and Kai Haruna are believed to have subjected their victim to the prolonged and unprovoked attack over a grievance believed to have involved drugs or money.
Saunter, 23, along with his younger accomplices O'Brien and Haruna, both 20, also subjected the man to burns, dog bites and genital mutilation in a flat in Gravesend, Kent.
The trio have now all been jailed for between eight and 13 and a half years after police received video evidence of the torture, which was shared on social media.
A sentencing hearing at Maidstone Crown Court, Kent, heard the men had tortured their victim in a dispute over money or the supply of drugs in July 2020.
It was told the men used knives, boiling salt water, and a "homemade flamethrower".
The victim was also subjected to dog bites and genital mutilation and, at one point in the evening, Haruna even repeatedly jumped on the victim's chest until he'd passed out.
The victim had been unable to escape due to the prolonged nature of the attack, as well as the threat of O'Brien's dog.
Two days after the attack, Kent Police received video evidence of the incident which had been shared on social media and arrested the men that same day.
Whilst arresting the attackers, officers seized two knives as well as quantities of heroin and cocaine.
One of the officers was injured after being bitten by a dog during the arrests.
The men were charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent, which Saunter and Haruna both admitted.
O'Brien had initially denied this charge but later also changed his plea to guilty.
Saunter admitted another charge of possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine.
Their sentences additionally dealt with two separate cases, involving thefts and further acts of violence.
Saunter, of Pevensey in East Sussex, was jailed for 13 years and six months, whilst O'Brien, of Greenwich, was given 11 years and Haruna, of Grove Park, London, was given eight years and three months.
All three will serve at least two-thirds of their jail time before they are even able to apply for parole, and all will be subject to an extended licence period of four years upon their release.
Commenting on the attack, Detective Constable John Carless, of Kent Police’s County Line and Gangs Team, said: "This case is a stark reminder of the wider range of violent crimes involved in the supply of drugs.
"Haruna, O’Brien, and Saunter planned and launched a lengthy attack on their victim, subjecting him to vicious torture techniques over a period of six hours.
"These men are violent and dangerous criminals with zero regard for the law."
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