'Sexually-motivated' pair tried to kidnap lone women by snatching them off street in broad daylight

A 14-year-old schoolgirl is among the string of lone females that were targeted on the street by two men.

Jordan Godfrey, 30, and Brett Parker, 28, drove around in a stolen Ford Focus stopping random women in quick succession and asked them for directions in a bid to snatch them off the street.

The pair targeted two women and a child in the space of one morning then crashed into a parked car and threatened two witnesses who started filming the accident.

Godfrey then dragged one of the women to the floor by the neck before they fled and their vehicle was found abandoned nearby.

Their crime spree began at around 8am on 6 November, 2018, when they pulled alongside a woman walking in Swanley, Kent, and offered her a lift.

Minutes later, they pulled up next to a teenage girl and asked her to get into the car to give them directions.

When she refused they followed her and only drove away after she pretended to make a phone call, then fled to a nearby supermarket and called her mother.

Around half an hour later, a 24-year-old woman was heading towards the town's train station when the car was used to block the footpath in front of her.

Father-of-two Parker, who had been taking drugs and drinking earlier that day, opened the back door and told her to get in.

When she refused, he then grabbed her arm and tried to force her inside, but the victim fought back and managed to make her way to safety.

Two victims who tried to film the pair were threatened before they drove off and abandoned the stolen car around 20 miles away near Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

During a trial at Maidstone Crown Court, the 24-year-old victim told how she was left traumatised by the ordeal.

She said: "I couldn't even think about walking down that road again. I've been having nightmares, dreaming about what happened over and over and what could have happened if he managed to get me in that car.“

Prosecutors during the trial told the jury the crimes were sexually motivated.

Parker, of Dagenham, east London, denied the attempted robbery and attempted kidnap but was found guilty and jailed for three years and nine months, to be served concurrently with another prison sentence for an unrelated crime.

Godfrey, of Colchester, Essex, also denied the allegations but was convicted of attempted robbery and sentenced to two years and six months in prison.

Judge Philip Statman told the defendants as he handed down the sentence: "This court has to ensure that young women are able to walk the streets without being bundled into a car.”

Following the sentencing, detective constable Hayley Campbell, of West Kent CID, said: "The intentions of Godfrey and Parker in trying to encourage and force females into their car remain unclear.

"However, there can be no doubt that their actions will have caused panic and genuine fear to each and every person who they targeted and approached.

"Everyone should be able to go about their everyday lives without fear of harassment or assault.”