A Bellambi man kidnapped from his home by three men was subjected to a savage beating before the group’s ringleader bit off part of his ear, a court has heard.
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Co-offenders Simon De Wet, Joel Ropiha, Kristy Roth and William Moana were due to go to trial in Wollongong District Court this week over allegations they were four members of a six-person group involved in attacking the male victim on July 25 last year.
However Roth, who played a lesser role in the incident, admitted to her involvement in the crime on Monday, De Wet pleaded guilty on Tuesday, and Moana and Ropiha both entered guilty pleas to charges stemming from the incident yesterday.
Another co-offender, Brody Allen, was sentenced to jail earlier this year.
The sixth man involved in the attack has not been identified and remains at large.
A set of agreed facts presented to the court this week named De Wet as the group’s ringleader, saying he organised the attack due to an outstanding ‘‘grievance’’ against the victim.
The court heard the victim had gone into hiding a month before the attack in a bid to avoid De Wet.
On the morning of the incident, the group had been discussing how to locate the victim when Roth volunteered to go the man’s mother’s house, saying ‘‘I’ll just go up to the door, his mum loves me’’.
While inside the home, Roth discovered the man was staying at the premises.
She left the door ajar as she exited to allow the group easy entry later on.
That evening Allen drove Ropiha, Moana and the unknown male to the house, barging their way inside. They ordered the victim to accompany them.
He was driven to an area near Bellambi swimming pool, where they were met by De Wet, who punched and kicked the victim several times until blood was running down his face. Ropiha joined in.
When the victim tried to crawl away on his hands and knees, De Wet jumped on his back and bit his right ear, severing a piece of skin.
He spat it out on the ground next to the man and the group left.
The victim managed to run to a friend’s place nearby to raise the alarm and call his mother, who had contacted police the moment her son had been kidnapped.
He was taken to hospital for treatment, however doctors were unable to reattach the severed piece of ear.
DNA swabbed was matched to De Wet.
Police recorded De Wet speaking on the phone about the assault a few days later.
‘‘We went and kidnapped the c---,’’ he said.
‘‘We didn’t abduct him, we repossessed him because he’s our f---ing bitch.’’
De Wet, Ropiha and Moana will be sentenced in February.
