AWNA BASZAK, DANIEL MISIOLEK AND KAMIL LESIAK BRUTALITY IN NETHERTON: HORRIFIC TORTURE AND SEXUAL ABUSE REVEALED

In May 2021, a chilling case of extreme violence and sexual abuse unfolded in Netherton, involving a gang that subjected their victim to a nine-hour ordeal of torture, humiliation, and degradation. The harrowing details have only recently come to light following the sentencing of the perpetrators at Liverpool Crown Court.

According to court proceedings, the victim, whose identity remains protected for legal reasons, was initially attacked at a residence in Bootle. The assault was reportedly unprovoked and driven by motives that remain unclear. The attack began on November 28, 2015, when Daniel Misiolek approached the man and suddenly assaulted him by punching him and striking him with an aluminium baseball bat. The victim was then ordered into a taxi, which took him to Misiolek’s home located in Simon’s Croft, Netherton.

Once there, the gang, which included Misiolek, Kamil Lesiak, and Baszak, subjected the victim to a series of brutal acts. They forced him to strip naked, repeatedly confined him in a small storage cupboard, and coerced him into performing sexual acts. Misiolek, at one point, declared, “this is your f***ing punishment,” before punching him again. The victim was then led to a small cupboard near the front door, where Misiolek told him, “You won’t get hurt but you will stay here until Monday and I will feed you once a day.”

Throughout the day, the victim was moved in and out of the cupboard, enduring beatings and torture at the hands of the gang. Misiolek bound his ankles and wrists, forcing him to hop around, and at one stage, held a kitchen knife to his face, threatening to cut out his eye. The gang also made him confess to being a paedophile, a claim he denied, desperately wishing for the ordeal to end. The violence and humiliation escalated further when Baszak, who filmed approximately ninety minutes of the nine-hour ordeal, captured the abuse on camera after Lesiak, also known as Kamil, arrived at the scene.

Prosecutor David Polglase detailed the extent of the abuse, describing how the victim was beaten, spat on, urinated on, and tied up with tape. Both Misiolek and Lesiak forced him to perform sexual acts on them multiple times and made him insert an object belonging to Baszak into his body. The court heard that Lesiak was also involved in inserting another item into the victim’s body, actions carried out without consent but under the threat of violence, which left the victim in fear of his life. The victim’s fear was so intense that he falsely confessed to crimes he did not commit, just to end the torment.

The ordeal only concluded when the victim, locked in the cupboard, overheard Misiolek and the others leaving the flat. Seizing the opportunity, he managed to kick his way out, dress quickly, and escape by jumping through a window from the top floor of the residence.

Lesiak was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in the crimes. Daniel Misiolek, who was 41 at the time and had previously pleaded guilty to most charges in 2016, was given a life sentence with a minimum term of nine years. He admitted to kidnapping, rape, false imprisonment, assault causing actual bodily harm, robbery, and six counts of causing a male to engage in sexual activity without consent. Baszak, aged 27 and residing in Simons Croft, Netherton, was convicted of kidnapping and two counts of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, resulting in a 12-year prison sentence. Additionally, Dagmara Szary of Belton Road, Huyton, was sentenced to 15 months in a young offenders institution after being convicted of kidnapping during the trial.

This case highlights the brutal and inhumane treatment inflicted upon the victim, exposing the depths of violence that can occur within criminal networks in Netherton. The sentencing aims to serve justice for the victim and send a clear message about the consequences of such heinous acts.