Whittington woman Charmayne Mcewen admits torturing man inside Leopold garage

A woman who played a key role in torturing, spitting on and beating a man in a Leopold garage boasted about the incident to her victim’s estranged girlfriend, telling of how she ‘mentally f---ed with him’.

A young Geelong woman took sick pleasure in torturing a man inside a Leopold garage during a spate of horrifying crimes that are likely to see her spend years in jail.

Charmayne Mcewen, 22, was high on ice when she took part in a series of depraved acts over a nine-day period last year.

The County Court on Monday heard shocking details of incidents that sounded more like the script of a Hollywood film and not crimes that had unfolded in suburban Geelong.

It was revealed one man begged for his life after being “hogtied” and forced to play cruel “games” while being tortured.

Charmayne Mcewen tortured a man inside a Leopold garage. Picture: Facebook

In separate incidents, a man was repeatedly stabbed with a knife, while two parents were extorted at gunpoint just metres from their young children.

Mcewen, of Whittington, has pleaded guilty to kidnapping, extortion, false imprisonment, intentionally causing injury, armed robbery and other charges.

Prosecutor Yildana Hardjadibrata told the court Mcewen’s crime spree started in the early hours of June 1, 2020, when she and an accomplice lured a man to a home in Leopold.

The victim, 34, had been trying to see his partner after a relationship breakdown and had been told the woman was at the Simons Rd address.

Mcewen filmed part of the victim’s terrifying ordeal. Picture: Facebook

Shortly after arriving, the man was attacked and had his head covered in duct tape, while his arms were taped behind his back and his legs tied with rope.

He remained bound on the garage floor for more than an hour as Mcewen and her accomplice physically beat him and played sick mind games.

The court heard the victim was told he would be set free if he could remain quiet for two minutes, but just as the time was about to lapse, his captors punched or kicked him, forcing him to make a sound.

The man was forced to play the “game” up to 15 times.

Several videos were taken during the ordeal which showed the victim covered in blood as Mcewen spat on him and used pliers to pull skin from the man’s head.

He was eventually bundled into the boot of his own car and driven to a nearby location, where Mcewen abandoned the vehicle and threatened the man with more torture if he tried to escape.

The victim, who was still tied up and unaware of his whereabouts, eventually managed to free himself and walk for 10 minutes until he sought help from a truck driver.

Mcewen later boasted about the incident in a conversation with the victim’s estranged girlfriend.

“We just mentally f---ed with him,” she said.

The Whittington woman also stabbed a man in the thigh. Picture: Facebook

About a week later, Mcewen was involved in another disturbing attack on a 30-year-old man in Thomson.

She and her male accomplice met the man under the pretence of a drug deal but then subjected him to horrific acts of violence.

It included slashing his forehead and tongue, stabbing both his feet and forcing a plastic bag over his head.

At one stage, Mcewen was handed the knife and stabbed the victim in the thigh.

The court heard the attack came after Mcewen accused the man of sexually assaulting another woman.

Her crimes continued the next day when she joined three men in extorting a mum-and-dad couple at a home in Charlemont while the victims’ children — aged 10, 11 and 13 — were nearby.

The group was armed with a loaded gun and knives and arrived at the Sparrowvale Rd home demanding money.

The parents were held against their will in a room before the father was forced to drive to Warralily Shopping Centre in a failed attempt to withdraw money.

The terrifying ordeal finally came to an end when the mother agreed to transfer $2000 to Mcewen’s account with the description: “Girls weekend away”.

Mcewen also stole the victims’ BMW. She was eventually arrested in August 2020 after repeatedly fleeing police in the stolen car.

Defence barrister Chris Pearson, for Mcewen, said the high school dropout had reached the “lowest point in her life” and now felt remorse for her actions.

Judge Elizabeth Brimer remanded Mcewen in custody for sentencing at a later date.

Originally published as Whittington woman Charmayne Mcewen admits torturing man inside Leopold garage