Woman jailed for 'vicious' revenge attack

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A carer was today sentenced to a total of seven years in prison for her part in a "prolonged and vicious" revenge attack on her husband's former lover.

Sarah Pentzel, 27, lured Mwanahamisi Juma to her flat where she was bound, gagged and battered with a hammer before being injected with a cocktail of "noxious" substances, Kingston Upon Thames Crown Court was told.

Ms Juma was also temporarily blinded after her former friend, who was acting with a male accomplice, threw chilli solution into her face.

Judge Frederick Marr-Johnson told the court he was satisfied that Ms Juma "genuinely feared for her life" during the attack in November last year.

Sentencing Pentzel to seven years in jail for wounding 31-year-old Ms Juma with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and a concurrent three year term for false imprisonment, he said she had turned on her victim in a "terrible and vicious manner".

"Ms Juma is still suffering to this day as a result of what you and your male accomplice did to her," he said.

"She has been unable to get back to work, she still has flashbacks, and she already feels scared for the day you are released from prison.

"She says the incident has turned her life upside down and she has only just finished receiving counselling for her experiences."

The court was told Ms Juma had to undergo plastic surgery on her hands as a result of the attack.

Pentzel, of Austin Road, Battersea, south west London, came to the UK aged 15 from Uganda, and had previously led a "blameless life" in the UK, the court was told. She had hoped to study nursing at university.

Judge Marr-Johnson said Ms Juma had herself described her former friend as a "caring, loving person" until she turned on her in a "terrible and vicious manner".

"It is still not clear why you did this but it seems likely that the probation officer is on the right track when she says that you were motivated by revenge and jealousy," Judge Marr-Johnson told the court.