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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Tim Piccione

Gratuitous cruelty, abuse of kidnapped woman 'depraved in the extreme': court

Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions.

The abuse a kidnapped woman suffered through for several hours "could only be described as depraved in the extreme", a court has found.

"It involved the victim, at the hands of the offender, being subjected to the most perverted, debasing, and degrading actions," Judge William Fitzsimmons said after sentencing the kidnapper last week.

"It was clearly intended to inflict untold and irreparable harm to the victim and self-evidently would be categorised as gratuitous cruelty."

Queanbeyan truck driver Benjamin Andrews, 35, received a three-year-and-nine-month jail sentence and a two-year-and-six-month non-parole period for his crime.

While he previously admitted to detaining a person in company with the intent to obtain advantage, Andrews fought several facts of the case in a hearing and was given a minimal discount as a result.

According to the facts, both agreed and found by the NSW District Court to be true, the victim was taken to a unit in East Queanbeyan by another man she knew in July 2022.

Inside the unit, Andrews eventually made the victim drink from a cup he had urinated in and, while filming her, forced the woman to say: "This is good chicken soup."

Andrews detained the victim, repeatedly sprayed her with a burning substance, held her in a headlock, forced faeces-soiled toilet paper into her mouth, which he then duct taped, and smeared faeces on her face.

Asked to explain why he had sprayed the woman while wearing protective goggles, Andrews replied: "I was off my head on drugs."

While the kidnapper denied some of his most horrifying conduct, the court described the victim as "unwavering in her evidence" in relation to those issues.

Judge Fitzsimmons ultimately found the victim was held in detention for about two hours and Andrews had detained her to make contact with another woman.

The Queanbeyan court house, where Andrews appeared throughout his case. Picture file

The prosecution submitted the man had also aimed to "obtain psychological gratification". A psychologist's report said Andrews acknowledged his behaviour was irresponsible and appeared remorseful for his actions.

At the time of his latest crime, the man was serving an 18-month community corrections order.

Factoring in the time he has already spent behind bars, Andrews will be eligible for parole in April 2025.

  • Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; MensLine 1300 789 978; beyondblue 1300 224 636.
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