Rapper’s horrific razor blade threat to author Yumi Stynes
An aspiring rapper threatened to violate media personality Yumi Stynes with razor blades and rape her grandmother in an abhorrent online attack.
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An aspiring rapper has apologised after he threatened to violate media personality Yumi Stynes with razor blades in a repugnant online attack.
Eli Engwicht appeared in Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday to plead guilty to using a carriage service to harass, menace, or offend.
The 23-year-old sent a message to Ms Stynes at 7pm on July 19 in which he declared he had “no qualms” about sexually assaulting her with razors or assaulting her grandmother.
“I wanna see you get torn up limb by limb and tortured for hours,” he wrote to the author and podcaster.
“You dirty piece of wasted life.”
Ms Stynes told police she felt terrorised and disgusted by the private message sent to her Instagram account.
According to the court documents, she feared for her safety and thought Engwicht might try to find out where she lived.
When he was arrested two days later, the aspiring rapper told police he had sent the message because he found Ms Stynes’ book on sex education “offensive”.
As he faced court for the first time, the 23-year-old issued a “public and sincere apology” for his “crimes” and “wrongdoing” after sending the horrific threats to the author.
“I apologise to Yumi Stynes and her direct family members for the inconvenience and the trouble and the threats that I’ve sent,” he told reporters outside the courthouse.
“I have a lot to grow as a person.”
His lawyer James Payten told the court his client formally pleaded guilty to sending the online threat.
He asked for a six-week adjournment to allow Engwicht to be referred to a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.
The court heard the 23-year-old had been restrained by a community corrections order for a previous conviction at the time he allegedly sent the threats to Ms Stynes.
He will be unable to threaten, harass, stalk or intimidate the author under the conditions of an interim apprehended violence order taken out by police for her protection.
The order also prevents the aspiring rapper from approaching, contacting or locating Ms Stynes.
Mr Engwicht, who goes by Lil Swift, is an aspiring musician who has shared multiple music videos of himself rapping on social media.
Ms Stynes shared his alleged menacing message in a bid to shine a light on the online abuse she’s received after the publication of her sex education book, Welcome to Sex: Your No-silly-questions Guide to Sexuality, Pleasure and Figuring it Out.
The book, which is intended for children aged 10 and older, has generated controversy for its unfiltered discussions of topics such as oral and anal sex, scissoring, and gender identity.
It was co-authored by Dr Melissa Kang, who specialises in adolescent health and formerly provided advice through the famed Dolly Doctor column.
The sex guide has been pulled from the shelves of Big W and Target following an online protest campaign, which saw staff members abused.
In a social media post addressing the backlash, Ms Stynes said she was proud of the book which had been “rigorously checked and resourced and researched” by a team of experts before publication.
“I believe so passionately in the good that these ‘Welcome To’ books do for young people,” she said.
“All we wanted to do was the absolute best for our young readers. It was crucial to our personal ethics.”
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Originally published as Rapper’s horrific razor blade threat to author Yumi Stynes