Woman sentenced for luring kidnap victim to house

A woman has been sentenced for persuading a kidnap victim to visit her house where he was attacked by others.

Lincoln Crown Court heard the man was lured to Bethany Booth's home in Market Rasen because of personal matters linked to a previous relationship.

He was held hostage and filmed as he was repeatedly assaulted before being driven to a property in Lincoln where he escaped from a second floor window.

Booth, 36, formerly of Roman Fields in Market Rasen, admitted a charge of false imprisonment and was sentenced to two years in jail, suspended for two years.

The court was told Booth made frequent calls and sent text messages to get the victim to come to her home in July 2025.

Declan Austin, prosecuting, said she remained outside the kitchen while the victim was held in the property for around four hours, adding that at one point a knife was run across his face.

"She was there to lure the victim to the address at the behest of the other defendants," Austin told the court.

"She would have known their intentions and the risk of harm to him."

After being held overnight the victim was caught on CCTV leaping from the house into a tree and climbing onto the street before flagging down a passing police car.

Armed police intercepted two of the kidnappers in a car and the others were arrested at the house in Market Rasen.

Five other people were jailed for the offence in August.

Passing sentence, Judge Simon Hirst said he accepted Booth played a subordinate role in luring the victim to the property and did not want any violence.

He told her culpability was also lowered by her mental health issues and susceptibility to exploitation.

The judge added: "Come back before me and you will be locked up."

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