ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Four people convicted of charges stemming from the kidnapping and torture of two New York college students have been sentenced to prison.
The two men and two women were convicted last month of kidnapping two male University of Rochester students in December 2015.
Prosecutors say the victims, both men, were abused during a 40-hour ordeal after being mistakenly targeted for retribution for a drug-related robbery.
Matthew Schwartz, one of the lead prosecutors in the case, said the perpetrators arranged for a woman to flirt with one of the victims on Facebook and eventually invited him to what she said was an off-campus party, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune.
Two other women picked up the men and drove them to a home in Rochester. When the college students walked into the home they were surrounded by men in masks and were bound in duct tape, Schwartz said.
Over the next 40 hours, the victims were “repeatedly assaulted,” both sexually and physically, the attackers cut them with knives and a chainsaw and even shot one victim in the leg, Schwartz said.
“Something particularly horrible like this … sometimes it’s worse than homicide. The torture that went on is almost indescribable,” Schwartz added.
Lydell Strickland was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years to life. David Alcaraz-Ubiles was sentenced to 15 years to run consecutively with a 15-year sentence he’s serving for another crime.
Inalia Rolldan and Ruth Lora were sentenced to seven years in prison and five years of post-release supervision.
Dennis Perez and Elliot Rivera each received 35-year prison sentences, while Samantha Hughes got 15 years and Leah Gigliotti received 13 years.
*With files from Global News
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