Jayden Williamson, Mataja Pagett sentenced in Wollongong District Court for horror attack on woman

A woman has told a court her femininity was destroyed after being tortured in a Wollongong unit where her hair was chopped off and she was forced to eat cat faeces.

Jayden Williamson and Mataja Pagett were sentenced in Wollongong District Court on Friday.

A woman has told a court her femininity was destroyed after being tortured in a Wollongong unit where her hair was chopped off and she was forced to eat cat faeces.

The court heard the victim impact statement during the sentencing of Jayden Williamson and Mataja Pagett at Wollongong District Court on Friday, with the pair two of six people involved in the offending.

Williamson, 22, and Pagett, 19, were jailed for more than three years after earlier this year pleading guilty to taking and detaining in company with the intent to gain advantage while occasioning actual bodily harm.

The court heard Williamson and Pagett were in a relationship at the time of the crime on August 30, 2023, when they, and a 16-year-old, tracked down a victim at North Wollongong train station.

Pagett yelled at the victim “come here, don’t run c--t” before they chased her to a nearby petrol station where she punched and spat on the woman’s face.

The horror incident began at North Wollongong train station.

The court heard Pagett grabbed the victim’s hair and marched her to a unit on Cliff Rd, Wollongong, where she directed her to apologise to her friend Christopher Diliapis for an alleged incident weeks prior.

Over the course of an hour the victim’s hands and legs were bound with zip ties and shoelaces before being forced to eat cat faeces.

“If you don’t eat it you’ll get bashed,” menaced Williamson.

The court heard a hair straightener was turned on with the thugs threatening to burn the victim. Pagett demanded a pair of scissors before, with the help of another unknown person, she cut the victim’s hair off.

The victim was kicked, hit with a vacuum cleaner pole and had a fry pan held against her face before she was left bound and drenched in the bathroom.

The court heard while this was taking place, Diliapis sat on a lounge watching and laughing.

Everyone barring the 16-year-old left the unit with the minor eventually “expressing some sorrow” for the victim and enabling her to leave.

Jayden Williamson and Mataja Pagett.

The court heard the victim, who had swelling and redness on her face and wrists, reported the incident to police with Pagett and Williamson arrested on September 4, 2023.

In court on Friday a victim impact statement was read out which detailed how the victim was forced to move away from her family in Wollongong due to her fear of being bashed.

“Even though I know they’re in jail I am scared they will come and find me and humiliate me again,” she said.

The woman, who is transgender, said the cutting of her “long and thick” hair is what has impacted her most given the role it played in her gender identity.

“I spent a lot of time growing my hair and it made me feel feminine and beautiful,” she said.

Pagett gave evidence where she detailed her difficult experience in custody which included multiple incidents forced upon her by imposing female inmates.

When Crown prosecutor Nerissa Keay asked how a relatively minor incident escalated to the victim being forced to eat faeces, Pagett said: “I don’t know.”

“I wanted her to understand that she made my friend feel bad,” she added.

Pagett and Williamson both expressed remorse for their horrid offending. When the latter was asked about forcing the victim to eat faeces he said: “I wouldn’t be able to answer that... just to embarrass her, not to cause long-term damage.”

Christopher Diliapis leaving Wollongong Local Court in 2023. Picture: Dylan Arvela

When handing down his sentence Judge Andrew Haesler said Pagett was the “instigator”, however, both were “equally culpable”.

Pagett was sentenced to a maximum prison term of three years and four months with a non-parole period of 20 months meaning with time already served she could be released in May, 2025.

Williamson’s head sentence was five months longer with a non-parole period of 23 months. With time already served he could be released in August, 2025.

Earlier this year Diliapis pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious indictable offence and will stand trial in October, 2025.

Danesha Jazmine Forester pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company and will be sentenced in Wollongong District Court at a later date.

The 16-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the same charges as Pagett and Williamson while a sixth person is unknown.

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