Transgender woman jailed 10 years for kidnap attempt on stranger in Andover
Safiya Anna Haverty, 28, rammed a woman with a van and strangled her on a country lane in Andover. Winchester Crown Court sentenced Haverty to 10 years.
Kidnap attempt on country lane ends in 10-year sentence at Winchester Crown Court
A transgender woman has been jailed for 10 years after deliberately driving a white van into a lone female walker, dragging her towards the vehicle and strangling her on a quiet country lane in Andover, dailymail.com reports.
Safiya Anna Haverty, 28, born Sean Haverty, struck the woman in her 50s on Micheldever Road on 2 March, throwing her several feet to the ground. Haverty then got out of the van, grabbed the victim and pulled her towards the rear of the vehicle, placing an arm around her neck and tightening the grip until she believed she would not survive.
His Honour Judge Rufus Taylor, sentencing at Winchester Crown Court, described the assault as a "perfectly calculated attack" in which Haverty "intended something awful to happen" to the victim.
Scouring southern England for a target
The court was told Haverty had spent days driving through southern England specifically looking for a woman to kidnap before selecting the victim, who had finished work at around 5.20pm and gone for a walk along a dead-end country lane.
Judge Taylor set out the sequence of events. The victim moved to the left-hand edge of the lane on hearing a van approach, expecting it to pass. Instead it struck her, sending her flying four or five feet. "She face planted and had dirt on her mouth. She was in complete shock," the judge said, recounting her account to the court.
Haverty got out and approached — the victim initially assuming the driver was coming to help. "But no. You didn't say anything but grabbed her and dragged her towards the van," Judge Taylor told Haverty. "You put your arm around her neck and strangled her. It got tighter and tighter. She tried to shout 'get off me, get off me' but couldn't. She thought she would not survive."
The victim escaped when Haverty briefly released the grip to open the van door. She ran over a verge, up a nearby hill, and flagged down two cyclists and a dog walker. Haverty returned to the van, chased her down the road, then turned around and fled.
Disguise and flight to Cornwall
Haverty had been wearing a long dark wig and a beanie hat during the attack. Detectives identified the van through CCTV footage that captured the number plate.
After fleeing Andover, Haverty drove to Cornwall, arriving in Newquay shortly before midnight. On entering a property there, Haverty went directly to the bathroom and shaved both head and beard. Judge Taylor noted this in court: "Your partner Essence McDonald thought this was very odd as you were trying to grow your hair out as part of your transition. This was you trying to change your appearance in case anyone saw you."
Conviction and sentence
Following a six-day trial, Haverty was convicted of kidnap, intentional strangulation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and perverting the course of justice. Haverty had previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, having admitted hitting the victim with the van. The jury cleared Haverty of kidnap intending to commit a sexual offence.
Haverty, who has a two-year-old daughter, appeared in court clean-shaven, wearing a long black wig, glasses and a long-sleeved black pullover. The sentence is 10 years in custody with a further four years on licence.
The court heard that Haverty began gender transition therapy in 2023 and identifies as a woman. Both the judge and barristers used he and she pronouns during proceedings.
Defence cites mental health difficulties from transition
Haverty's barrister, Adrianna Knight, told the court that the transition process had caused mental health difficulties. "The psychiatric report doesn't go into specifics but reports anxiety, distress and vulnerability," Knight said in mitigation.
Victim speaks of lasting trauma
Reading her impact statement to the court, the victim said she found it "extremely difficult" to leave the house alone since the attack and still wakes with panic attacks.
"The worst part was being strangled. Having someone restrain you and affect your breathing is terrifying," she said. "I think about how different the consequences could have been. I think about what might have happened if he hadn't have been able to escape."
She added: "The thought he could have done this to another woman or even child is deeply upsetting."
The victim said she now carries a personal alarm at all times and has undergone PTSD counselling and a self-protection course. "I cannot simply forget what happened and get on with my life as though nothing happened," she told the court. "I'm still trying to get back to the person I was before but I don't know if I will ever regain the sense of freedom and safety I once had. Something that happened over a matter of minutes still has an impact on me today."
The victim sustained injuries to her back, knee and face and was left with a mark on her neck.
Judge Taylor described the attack as "terrifying", telling Haverty it had left the victim feeling completely helpless and "at your mercy".
Source: The Sun