Ex-soldier jailed for role in kidnapping and ransom video ordeal
Mark Pearce was sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap.
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Ex-soldier Mark Pearce, 53, has been jailed for four years for his role in a gang that kidnapped a man, beat him, and forced him to film naked ransom videos in a caravan near Stockton in April 2024.
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Mark Pearce and accomplices kidnapped a man on April 13, 2024, taking him to a caravan to film naked ransom videos.
An ex-soldier who was part of a gang which kidnapped and beat a man before making him film naked ransom videos has been jailed for four years.
Mark Pearce, 53, and others took the victim to a caravan in a field owned by Pearce near Stockton for the hours-long ordeal in April 2024, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The kidnappers had disguised themselves as delivery drivers and bundled the man into a van outside his home, the court heard.
Pearce, from Stockton, had denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap along with Donald Hammond, 43 from London, who was jailed for six years at an earlier hearing.
The victim was confronted by three men in high-vis jackets outside his home and shoved into the back of a van on 13 April 2024, prosecutor Oliver Connor said.
The men were wearing their jackets to make them look like delivery drivers, the court heard.
The victim was taken to a caravan in a field where he was bound with tape and cable ties and blindfolded.
Offene Fragen
- What were the specific demands of the ransom?
