Bilston mum spared jail despite plot to kidnap Elvis Presley impersonator
A MOTHER who played a part in a plot to kidnap an Elvis Presley impersonator has walked free from court today.
Mum-of-two Sarah Marshall, 21, of Bilston, was given a three-year community order after a judge at Wolverhampton Crown Court said she had shown some mercy towards her victim.
Marshall, whose former boyfriend Tony Boden was jailed indefinitely last month, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment at a previous hearing. Judge Martin Walsh said he was satisfied she was "completely under the control" of Boden - a singer in a local rock group - when he kidnapped Katie Peters.
Miss Peters, then aged 17, was bound, handcuffed and held prisoner for more than 40 hours in a makeshift "dungeon" in the cellar of Boden's music shop in Bilston in an elaborate plot that involved a fake ransom demand.
Judge Walsh told Marshall: "You have pleaded guilty to a serious offence that ordinarily would have resulted in the imposition of a significant sentence of custody.
"This was an extremely serious offence of false imprisonment in which a young woman was detained in horrific conditions for a period over three days."
But the judge ruled that Marshall, unlike Boden, did not represent a significant risk of serious harm to the public. He told her: "You are described as being an extremely lonely individual who strives to seek recognition and status. You showed some mercy to the victim of this horrendous crime by releasing her from her bindings and providing some comfort to her when your co-defendant was not present."
Marshall is now living at a hostel run by the Probation Service and her sentence means she must remain under supervision for three years.
Defence lawyer Sarah-Jayne Buckingham said Marshall, who spent six months in custody while on remand, was vulnerable and easily led. Miss Peters, now 18, met Boden when she began to work at his shop and later formed a relationship with the singer, of Ettingshall, Wolverhampton.
She split with the 23-year-old last November, but was held prisoner in February after being lured to his shop. The victim was not in court to see sentence passed on Marshall, who refused to comment.
