London: A man was sentenced to life in prison for plotting to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby, one of Britain’s most high-profile television personalities.
At the sentencing hearing on Friday at Chelmsford Crown Court, around 65 kilometres east of London, Judge Edward Murray told Gavin Plumb, 37, that he would have to serve a minimum term of 16 years before he would be eligible for parole.
Gavin Plumb.Credit: AP
Plumb was found guilty by a jury last week following an eight-day trial.
“Over a number of years, you pursued an unhealthy sexual obsession with Holly Willoughby that led you ultimately to plan over that period to kidnap, to rape and to murder her,” the judge said. “You intended to harm her husband and her children as part of your plan.”
Plumb’s kidnap plans, as fleshed out in vivid detail in an online chat group, involved attempting to “ambush” Willoughby at her family home. He had even discussed taking time off work in order to organise the attack.
The judge said Plumb’s plans were so “horrifying, shocking and graphic in detail” that they were not shared in open court, though the jury did hear them.
The judge said Plumb’s plot had a “catastrophic and “life-changing” impact on the TV personality, privately and professionally.Credit: nna\KCampbell
They were, he added, “particularly sadistic, brutal and degrading” and he had no doubt the plans were “considerably more than a fantasy.”
Plumb, who had prior convictions for attempted kidnap, had argued in his defence that his detailed plan was just online chat and fantasy.
Though Willoughby’s impact statement was not relayed, the judge said it was clear that Plumb’s plot had a “catastrophic and “life-changing” impact on the TV personality, privately and professionally.
Willoughby, 43, has for years been one of the most high-profile television personalities in the UK. Soon after Plumb’s arrest, she stood down after 14 years of presenting This Morning, a morning program on ITV.
Plumb was snared after a US undercover police officer infiltrated an online group called “Abduct Lovers” and became so concerned about Plumb’s posts that evidence was passed to the FBI.
Plumb told the officer he was “definitely serious” about his plot to kidnap Willoughby, leaving the officer with the impression that there was an “imminent threat” to her.
When Essex police officers raided Plumb’s flat in north London they found bottles of chloroform and an “abduction kit” complete with cable ties.
When he was arrested and officers told him that the allegations concerned Willoughby, the defendant told them: “I’m not gonna lie, she is a fantasy of mine.”
Detective Chief Inspector Greg Wood, of Essex Police, the senior investigating officer, said the case “brought misogyny and violence against women and girls to the fore” and paid tribute to Willoughby and others
“It has demonstrated that we all have much to do to stamp it out of society,” he said outside of the court following the sentencing. “It cannot be right that men like Gavin Plumb are able to join online forums where they freely vent their hatred towards women and girls and plot to cause them harm.
AP