Woman who tortured 'sugar daddy' jailed for 14 years in UK
A mother-of-three has been jailed for 14 years for beating up a "Sugar Daddy" pensioner with a Canals of England picture and torturing him with a hot iron.
Gordon Bland, 79, offered Samantha Butler, 40, cash to "help her out a bit" after meeting her in his local pub, the Royal Albert, on July 9 last year.
When they got back to his flat in Crystal Palace, south-east London, she immediately hit him over the back of the head and vowed to kill him, he said.
She went on to batter him with a picture frame, throttle him with an electrical cable and branded him with his own iron at least three times during the hour-long assault which was only brought to a halt when a neighbour called police.
Mr Bland, a porter, suffered numerous injuries, including bleeding on the brain, and spent the next five weeks in hospital.
Butler, of St Aubyns Road, Upper Norwood, south London, admitted causing Mr Bland's wounds but denied trying to kill him and claimed the iron must have fallen on him.
She claimed she passed out in the living room and woke up to find herself in only her pants and bra with an undressed Mr Bland on the sofa.
A jury at the Old Bailey deliberated for less than an hour to find Butler not guilty of attempted murder but guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Reading from Mr Bland's victim impact statement, prosecutor Ian McLoughlan said the victim was left in "extreme pain and discomfort" and was still unable to use his left hand as a result of the attack.
He had been unable to carry on his work as a porter at a block of flats on the Thames, a job he had loved.
He described himself as a sociable person whose activities had been curtailed, making him feel trapped in his own home.
He was unable to prepare and enjoy food, struggling to carry out simple tasks like chopping onions.
The court heard Butler, who has an emotionally unstable personality disorder, has 35 previous convictions for 91 offences including theft, assaulting a police officer and child cruelty.
Andrew Mooney, mitigating, said all her convictions stemmed from getting money for drink or drugs or as a result of drink and drugs.
She started taking drugs at 13, left home a year later and went on to have some "abusive relationships" with men, he said.
Sentencing, Judge Philip Katz QC said Butler had told a "pack of lies" to the jury and he had no doubt she had burnt her victim at least three times.
He said: "You have undoubtedly led a sad and chaotic life. You have been a thoroughly dishonest woman for most of your adult life and you have convictions to prove it."
He told the defendant that on the day of the attack she had behaved "like a prostitute" and quickly latched on to Mr Bland as a potential customer before launching her "sustained and vicious attack".
The judge said Butler had shown "not one ounce of remorse or compassion" and whatever her problem with men was, she had taken it out on Mr Bland.
The victim told jurors that he had made what he thought was a "Sugar Daddy arrangement" with Butler and given her around £40 which was all he had on him at the time.
She later changed her mind and gave the money back to him, the court heard.
