Napier victim felt ‘this was it’ during prolonged, brutal abuse by other women

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

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

Warning: This article contains descriptions of violence that may be disturbing to some readers.

A young woman jumped naked from the top floor window of a house to escape a prolonged and brutal beating committed by four others, during which she thought she would die.

During her two-hour ordeal, the Napier woman was shocked with a Taser-like weapon, punched, kicked and forced to strip naked before hand sanitiser was spread over her eyes, face and body.

Her female attackers took videos of the woman, one of which was 18 minutes long, which they posted on social media.

The videos have since been declared legally “offensive”, making possession or sharing of them a criminal offence.

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

Atalia Braid, 20, was sent to prison for two and a half years after pleading guilty to kidnap, wounding with intent to injure, assault with a weapon, indecent assault and making an offensive publication.

Georgia Mulligan, 25, who instigated the incident, was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting the same series of offences, possessing cannabis for supply, possessing ammunition and attempting to pervert the ends of justice.

Two others allegedly involved in the attack are still being processed by the court.

“This was humiliating and humiliating and indeed that was clearly one of the motivating factors as evidenced by the recording that was made,” Judge Matenga told Mulligan and Braid at Napier District Court.

He said the victim felt at the time that “you were going to kill her. That this was it for her; that you never intended to let her go.”

Judge Matenga said the woman was lured to an address in Napier in the belief she would get some money she was owed.

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 her face and head. She was shocked by the Taser-type weapon, up close and at a distance.

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

She was “thrown around”, the judge said, subjected to crude and sexualised comments, and told to stop talking, what she should and should not do.

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

She managed to escape from the bathroom, jumping naked from a top-floor window.

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

The police were called and she was found.

The victim suffered bruises around her eyes and on her arms, a cut on her chin and wounds on her back.

Judge Matenga said she also suffered psychological and emotional injuries.

A victim impact statement he read said she was still struggling with “constant terrorizing dreams”, hearing voices and reminders of her fear and hopelessness.

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

“She is still paying the price for what you did to her,” Judge Matenga said.

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

Where to get help:

Sexual violence

NZ Police

Victim support 0800 842 846

Rape crisis 0800 88 33 00

Rape prevention education

Empowering trust

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

Safe to talk: a 24/7 confidential helpline for survivors, supporting people and people with harmful sexual behaviour: 0800044334

Male survivors Aotearoa

Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496

If it is an emergency and you think you or someone else is in danger, call 911.

– This story originally appeared in the New Zealand herald.