Napier victim felt ‘that was it’ during prolonged, brutal beating of other women

Napier District Court.
Photo: RNZ/Rebekah Parsons-King

• A Napier woman escaped a brutal two-hour attack by jumping naked from an upstairs window
• Two of her four attackers, Atalia Braid and Georgia Mulligan, were sent to prison
• Judge Gordon Matenga described the attack, which was filmed and posted online, as humiliating and degrading.

Warning: This article includes descriptions of violence that may disturb some readers.

A young woman jumped naked from the upper floor window of a house to escape a prolonged and brutal beating by four other people, during which she thought she might die.

During her two-hour ordeal, the Napier woman was electrocuted with a Taser-type weapon, punched, kicked and forced to strip naked before having hand sanitizer sprayed over her eyes, face and body.

Her attackers made videos of the woman, one of them 18 minutes long, which they posted on social media.

The videos have since been declared legally “objectionable,” making it a crime to possess or share them.

Two of the women involved in the September 10, 2023 attack have now been sent to prison.

Atalia Braid, 20, was sentenced to prison for two and a half years after pleading guilty to kidnapping, wounding with intent to injure, assault with a weapon, indecent assault and objectionable publication.

Georgia Mulligan, 25, the instigator of the incident, was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting the same type of offence, as well as possessing cannabis for supply, possessing ammunition and attempting to pervert the cause of justice.

Two others allegedly involved in the attack are still being tried by the courts.

“This was humiliating and degrading and, in fact, was clearly one of the motivating factors, indicated by the recording that was being made,” Judge Matenga told Mulligan and Braid at Napier District Court.

He said the victim felt at the time that “you were going to finish her off. That this was all for her; that you never planned to let her go.”

Judge Matenga said the woman was lured to an address in Napier believing she would receive some money owed to her.

Instead, she was confronted by one of the attackers wearing a balaclava and another who punched her in the face.

During the attack, Mulligan shouted at the woman and accused her of “badmouthing” her on social media.

The punches and kicks included blows to the face and head. She was shocked by the Taser-type weapon up close and from a distance.

She felt she had no choice when she was ordered to take off her clothes and hand sanitizer was applied to private parts of her body.

She was “tossed around,” the judge said, subjected to rude and sexualized comments, told to stop talking, told what to do and what not to do.

The woman was covered in disinfectant, sweat and blood, and was told to take a shower.

From the bathroom, she managed to escape, jumping naked from an upstairs window.

She ran and hid under a parked car and then to another house, where she broke a window and went inside to hide.

The police were called and she was located.

The victim had bruises around his eyes and arms, a cut on his chin and wounds on his back.

Judge Matenga said she also suffered psychological and emotional injuries.

A victim impact statement he read said she still struggled with “constant terrifying dreams”, hearing voices and memories of her fear and hopelessness.

She had been admitted to hospital three times due to loss of sleep and lack of appetite.

“She is still paying the price of what you put her through,” Judge Matenga said.

The attack took place in the Wellesley Road area of ​​Napier, which was cordoned off by armed police two days after the incident.

Where to get help:

Sexual Violence

New Zealand Police

Victim Support 0800 842 846

Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00

Rape Prevention Education

Empowerment Confidence

HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655 – press 0 in menu

It’s safe to talk: a 24/7 confidential helpline for survivors, support people and people with harmful sexual behavior: 0800044334

Male Survivors Aotearoa

Survivors Network of Abuse of Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496

If it is an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

– This story originally appeared on New Zealand Herald.