KIDNAP PLOT
‘I always have to defend myself’, reveals kidnapped model Chloe Ayling over doubters who claim she lied about ordeal
Chloe revealed how her mum reacts to those who doubt her
MODEL Chloe Ayling revealed "I always have to defend myself", over trolls who claim she lied about her kidnap.
Brothers Lukasz and Michael Herba were convicted of kidnapping Chloe and sentenced to more than 16 years in prison.
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Despite their convictions, the model shared how cowardly keyboard warriors, who allege she faked her horror ordeal, still target her with hate.
She told : "I feel like there was no [acknowledgment] of what I went through.
"I was never praised for my bravery getting out of that situation. Instead, I always have to defend myself."
The brit was 21-years-old when she was abducted in 2017, after being lured to an address in Milan under the guise of securing a modelling job.
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She was drugged with ketamine before being stuffed in a suitcase and bundled into the boot of a car.
The kidnapper brothers held her hostage at a farmhouse near Turin for six days while a €300,000 (£265,000) ransom was demanded.
They told her she had been taken by a group who call themselves the Black Death and the model would be auctioned off as a sex slave.
She was released on July 17, at the British consulate in Milan after the model managed to convince Lukasz she would be his girlfriend.
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Lukasz was sentenced to 16 years and nine months, which was reduced by five years in 2020, making his new sentence 12 years and one month.
It was cut short after a judge ruled he had "acted compassionately" by freeing her.
Alex Batty was forced to work from 14 to support kidnapper ‘mum & grandad’ – including as a chef, pot-washer & builder
Giving evidence, Chloe told the court she could tell Lukasz had feelings for her and was "sexually frustrated".
She said he released her after she managed to convince him she would be his girlfriend.
Michal Herba, 42, was sentenced to 16 years and eight months but had his sentenced reduced to five years and eight months.
A judge ruled his sentence should be changed from "kidnapping for extortion purposes" to "kidnapping".
He was released in 2022.
Chloe said : "I think he should have been in prison for a lot longer.
"The fact that they still don't take accountability and still want to make lies and not be responsible for what they did [is] even more annoying."
It comes as her nightmare is set to be portrayed in a new BBC drama called Kidnapped.
Ahead of the release, Chloe said: "I know the truth and everyone who's looked into my story knows the truth."
The model told how her mum has cut ties with "almost everyone" in their area for defending her daughter.
Chloe continued: "I saw people online judging if I was lying by analysing my body language in interviews.
"There’s a reason body language experts are not called to give evidence in court. So stupid."
She highlighted the vile conspiracy theories promulgated on social media surrounding Jay Slater's disappearance and said "victims are not believed" until there's "concrete evidence".
"The only way you can prove people wrong is to be found dead," she added.
The former Celebrity Big Brother contestant spoke of watching her ordeal come to life on screen.
"Seeing it gave me chills because it’s such a relief. People will see all the evidence against [the Herbas] laid out word for word, without bias," she said.
Ahead of the new show, the model has stopped uploading content on OnlyFans and is trying to stay out of the spotlight.
"I am excited that BBC Studios are telling my story and that the wider world will get to know the truth about what happened to me and learn of the many details that weren't brought to light originally," Chloe added.
The writer of Kidnapped, Georgia Lester, also told how the bigger picture is "how we treat victims, especially women".
Doubt was sparked over Chloe's ordeal after both Herbas brothers claimed the kidnapping was staged to boost Chloe's modelling career, which she denied.
Defence lawyer Katia Kolakowska argued at their trial in Milan that Chloe tried to recreate a 2016 film called By Any Means, in which a model fakes her abduction for publicity.
More conspiracy theories circulated when Chloe was seen shopping and holding hands with Lukasz on CCTV shortly after she was let go.
Chloe said she was "brainwashed", feared for her life, and denied any involvement.
She said doubtful trolls "completely ruined" her reputation, and claimed it was never her desire for the story to "go public".
The model is hoping the new BBC drama will lay continuing rumours to rest.
Kidnapped stars Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Lindsay, Olive Gray and Eleonora Romandini.
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Also in the cast are Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Lindsay, Julian Swiezewski and Olive Gray.
It will air on Wednesday on BBC Three at 9pm.
Who is Lukasz Herba
By Corey Charlton, Richard Wheatstone and Jimmy Grant
LUKASZ Herba claimed to be an assassin working for the Black Death Group when he kidnapped British glamour model and mum-of-one Chloe Ayling.
Here is everything we know about Herba and the shocking case, which features in the BBC factual drama 'Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story.
Lukasz Herba was convicted of kidnapping the model on June 11, 2018 and sentenced to 16 years and nine months in prison.
He was found guilty of drugging her when she showed up in Milan for a modelling job.
The now 33-year-old was convicted in a court in the Italian city and jailed for more than 16 years.
Herba had claimed Chloe agreed to the scheme as part of a publicity stunt to boost her career.
But in 2020 his sentence was reduced by almost five years because a judge ruled he ''acted out of love''.
Herba claimed she wanted to raise her profile in an effort to amass more followers on her paid-for Facebook profile, which had “spicy photographs” for cash.
He said they met on the social media platform and planned the kidnap together because she told him she was cash strapped.
Polish-born Herba denied abducting Chloe during his trial in Milan.
Police say Herba demanded £250,000 to stop a human trafficking auction, hosted on pornographic sites on the dark web.
He was arrested on July 17, 2017, after delivering Chloe to the British consulate in Milan.
She claims he took pity on her after she told him she had a then two-year-old son.
The alleged kidnapper told police he had no idea of the kidnap plan when he was paid £500,000 by Romanians to pose as a photographer and meet Chloe.
He said when he found out they were planning to kidnap her he backed out of the plan.
The so-called Black Death group is an organisation which claims to be responsible for a network of kidnapping and people trafficking.
Although rumours of its existence have circulated for several years, the kidnapping of Chloe Ayling in Milan is believed to be the only suspected crime authorities have publicly linked it to.
The name is notorious on sections of the internet due to the apparent scale and depravity of its offending, though it's not clear if its photos touting women for sale are authentic, nor if it is as proficient as it claims to be.
It's claimed that users of the dark web pay huge fees to buy women who have been kidnapped from across Europe.
A 2015 article by Vice's Motherboard stated their reporter had found images of women chained up with the victim being offered for sale £115,000.
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