Two University of Rochester football players thought they were being invited to a party for fun.
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Instead, they were subject to 40 hours of the most vicious torture anyone can imagine.
Now, four people have been sentenced to as much as 155 years in prison for the attack, and the details are worse than sickening.
The following is an account of the events as it appeared in the Washington Post, in a case so brutal the prosecutor choked up when recalling the events:
One of the victims had been flirting with a woman on a social media site, and In December 2015 she invited him and his friend to what they thought was a party. Instead, it was a trap. They were targeted because the attackers mistakenly thought the football players —- both 21 at the time of the crime —- were involved in a robbery of a group of drug dealers a month earlier.
When the two men entered the house, it went dark. That's when hell opened up.
One of the victims tried to escape, but was shot with a .22-caliber rifle that shattered his femur. Both students were blinded with duct tape and endured all sorts of unspeakable acts. They were beaten with bats and pipes. The skin between their toes were cut. The victim who had already been shot was shot in the other leg. They were both doused with a liquid and threatened to be set on fire.
But after the 40 hours, police rescued the students after their roommates reported them missing. Cops found one of the flirtatious woman, and that's how they found the victims.
Lydell Strickland, the 27-year-old who orchestrated the attack, was sentenced to 155 years to life. He was found guilty of a myriad of charges that included kidnapping, assault, gang assault and sexual abuse, according to the Democrat and Chronicle.
Strickland, a man with no soul, smiled as his sentenced was handed down.
Three others —- including the woman that lured the players to the house — were sentenced to anywhere from seven to 15 years for the roles.
