Couple pointed gun at sex worker’s head, beat her and poured hot wax into her wound

A former couple who held two sex workers hostage at their flat in Battersea before physically and sexually abusing had taken recordings on mobile phones, a court has heard. Alex Ballen, 19, and Keyha Isheda-Stanbury, 23, had initiated a “prolonged attack” on their two victims, which involved punching, kicking, cutting their hair and forcing them to perform sexual acts on one another.

They both appeared today (Monday, February 7) for sentencing, after pleading guilty to a variety of offences on a 17-count indictment. The charges include false imprisonment, burglary, sexual assault and causing actual bodily harm, after their two victims were subjected to a terrifying 10 hour ordeal.

The court heard that shortly before 8pm on June 21, 2020, Ballen had sent a Whatsapp to a sex worker, whose number had been advertised on the website Adultworks. While it is understood that the victims and the two defendants had a mutual acquaintance and were known to one another, they had not been friends in the past.

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Prosecutor Natasha Dardashti said that Ballen had given the impression of being a “genuine customer”, but upon arriving at the flat, the victim immediately sensed something was amiss. She was grabbed and placed in a chokehold and was “viciously attacked by both defendants in this prolonged attack”.

Shortly afterwards, duct tape was placed on her mouth and she was restrained. She was subjected to further punching and kicking, before her hair was cut and Ballen produced a gun and pointed it to her head. At that point during the assault, she was unaware if it was loaded, and she was struck across the head with the weapon. This caused a “great deal of bleeding” and caused her to lose consciousness, at which point Ballen poured hot candle wax into the wound.

Labelling it “violent, degrading and dehumanising abuse”, Ms Dardashti told Kingston Crown Court that the second victim was treated in a similar manner and showed there was a “clear plan” for the attack. She arrived a few hours later, and endured “repeated and sustained punching” as soon as she entered the property.

Having stolen both their house keys and their social media credentials, Ballen’s girlfriend, Isheda-Stanbury, then booked a taxi and travelled to the flats of their victims. Showing “arrogance and bravado”, she posted a video of herself in one of their properties from her victim’s account, and subsequently stole £1000.

Whilst she was out burgling, Ballen continued to “violate and degrade” his victims, by pouring water over them, throwing eggs, forcing them to strip naked and fight each other, and using cable wires to whip them. He also forced them to masturbate in front of him, to lick each other’s genitals and forced them to insert a hairbrush and spray bottle into their vaginas.

Several videos were also taken on Isheda-Stanbury’s phone, which showed the victims restrained in the property, a video of them naked and another of them attempting to cover their faces whilst wearing no clothes. One particularly disturbing video showed a victim naked and “badly beaten” whilst covering herself with a towel.

The two victims were then forced to clean the flat, including wiping their blood and hair from the floor, before the couple allowed them to leave. One of the victims attended King’s College Hospital shortly afterwards with multiple injuries to the left side of her face, bleeding on the eyeball, blurred vision and multiple hits to her ribs and stomach.

The couple was arrested and have been remanded in custody ever since. After numerous hearings, Isheda-Stanbury pleaded guilty to two counts of false imprisonment, two counts of ABH and burglary, whilst Ballen admitted four counts of sexual activity without consent, possession of a firearm, false imprisonment and ABH.

In emotional victim impact statements read aloud to the court, one of the victims said she had struggled to sleep ever since the incident and lived in “fear of repercussions”. She said that she preferred to stay in hotels as she no longer feels safe at home, and orders all shopping online to prevent social interaction. As she had not told her family of her job as a sex worker, she has never told them what happened and has not felt able to have their support.

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The second victim said that she too has become “more wary” of new people, and wears a wig in order to feel like herself, after it was cut by the defendants.

Isheda-Stanbury’s defence lawyer Sophie Quinton-Carter described the couple’s relationship as “shortlived and toxic”, with her client becoming “enamoured” by Ballen during the two months they were together.

Ms Dardashti argued that their actions showed a “significant degree of planning”, and that it was a “planned, targeted plot” to lure two sex workers to the flat.

Sentencing before Judge Rebecca Poulet QC will recommence at 9:30am on Friday.

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https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/couple-pointed-gun-sex-workers-23017587

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