A woman kidnapped from a bar and dragged to a house by two men intent on sexual violence fears she will carry the “horror of that night” with her for the rest of her life.

The vulnerable victim was heavily drunk and at times unconscious when she was marched and carried away from Clique Bar in Ramsgate by Gaitis Dukovskis and Marek Brokim.

The men - described by a judge as lacking both remorse and respect for women - then took her to a property in nearby Kent Terrace where, having come to her senses, she discovered to her terror that her trousers had been unfastened.

But Canterbury Crown Court heard that despite her fear she might be raped, she bravely managed to push her would-be attackers off, dialled 999 and fled.

Desperately pleading with police to save her, she then hid behind a car until officers - with the help of the operator and the What3Words app - were able to find her cowering and in distress.

Dukovskis, 37, and Brokim, 46, were arrested at the property. Both had been drinking, maintained there had been a “misunderstanding” and claimed they had left the woman alone when she made it clear she did not want their assistance.

They later denied kidnap and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence but were convicted last month by a jury’s majority verdicts of 11 to one.

The prosecution said it was conceded that it could not be said “for certain” which sexual offence would have been intended but that it was “at least” a sexual assault, with the “possibility” of assault by penetration and/or rape.

At their sentencing hearing today on Friday, the court heard the victim was left “paralysed with fear” for many months and has suffered further psychological harm from having to relive her ordeal at the trial.

In a statement read to on her behalf by prosecutor Ben Wild, she described how the night she was “taken against her will” and the legal proceedings which followed had taken a toll both personally and professionally.

“This incident left me in such fear that I was unable to leave my house. I was unable to go to work, couldn’t go to the shops. I was paralysed with fear,” she said.

“I would have nightmares every couple of nights and in the weeks after this incident. It took me three months to leave the house. Even then I couldn’t be on my own.

“To this day I still don’t feel safe going into town. I feel hypervigilant about everything, constantly looking over my shoulder. I don’t want to go out or do anything.”

Since the trial, she said she had “stopped sleeping”, become isolated from family and friends, and had to increase her medication.

“This incident took my independence away and I still feel I will be carrying the horror of that night with me for the rest of my life,” she said.

Mr Wild told the court the men had targeted a very intoxicated and vulnerable woman that night and used “some force”, although no violence, to escort her away.

He added that their conduct involved “some planning” in the sense of taking her back to where they were staying.

At trial, jurors heard that in the lead up to her being abducted, she had been sick in the bar and appeared “out of it” when a doorman went to fetch her a glass of water in an attempt to sober her up.

But by the time he returned, she was being “propped up” and walked away by the defendants.

CCTV footage showed Brokim escorting her from the bar before Dukovskis carried her limp body up the road.

She and a friend had briefly spoken to them earlier that night. It was said that they later appeared to be staring at her and not drinking.

Describing the kidnap itself, Mr Wild the court: “She was very drunk, Mr Brokim was beside her. He lifted her up by the arm and took her out of Clique bar.

This incident took my independence away and I still feel I will be carrying the horror of that night with me for the rest of my life...

“On the CCTV she can be seen stumbling and having difficulty staying on her feet. Mr Dukovskis came out of Clique to its outside area and followed them about 30 seconds later.

“Mr Brokim can be seen taking her away from a row of taxis, in the opposite direction to her home, and past at least one other seating area. He continued to have a firm hold of her arm during this time.

“Mr Dukovskis caught up further down the street and was later seen carrying the limp woman down the street, with Mr Brokim by her side.

“The pair then shoved and dragged her to where they were staying on Kent Terrace. They took her into the property and one or both of the men undid her trousers.

“She remembers believing that she was going to be raped.”

Of the moment she escaped, Mr Wild continued: “She remembers somehow managing to push her way past the men and out onto the street where she immediately made a panicked call to 999 and found somewhere to hide.

“She was found by officers, cowering next to a car on Kent Terrace. Her trousers were still undone and she was in obvious distress.”

The defendants, both from Latvia, were arrested and were said to have been “somewhat intoxicated” during the incident in 2022.

Dukovskis, who came to the UK in 2019 following the death of his parents and the break-up from the mother of his children, was supported in court by his current partner.

His lawyer, Daniel Cohen, said it was “difficult to put forward any real explanation” on his behalf as it was still maintained by his client that his actions that night had been misunderstood.

But he said the kidnap itself was spontaneous, lasted “a matter of minutes”, involved no physical restraints and the victim was not prevented from escaping.

“It seems clear Mr Brokim and Mr Dukovskis were drinking together, socialising together, going between bars in a manner which seemed to be normal in the area, and it doesn’t fit the pattern where there was a pre-emptive plan to commit an offence of this nature, particularly given he was drinking throughout the evening. It was a very spontaneous incident,” explained Mr Cohen.

He also urged that Dukovskis be given the shortest prison sentence possible in light of his previous good character, work ethic, financial support he provides his children back in Latvia, and the lengthy delay in being charged and awaiting trial.

Salma Lalani, defending Brokim, who was also supported in court by his wife, echoed the assertions that the offence was short-lived and not planned.

She said the father and self-employed construction worker, who has been in the UK for 21 years, also maintained his innocence but had expressed remorse for his “lack of judgement” that night.

“He was, and there is evidence, intoxicated that night. His judgement, he says, was impaired and certainly, in the cold light of day and in the cells, he realises he would never have approached a woman, a stranger, even if he had spoken to her earlier and left to get some fresh air,” Ms Lalani explained.

Dukovskis, of St Mildred’s Road, Ramsgate, and Brokim, of Bramley Close, Ash, near Canterbury, were each jailed for four years.

Passing sentence, Judge Edmund Fowler said they had been convicted on “clear evidence” of an “insidious” offence that involved targeting and “taking advantage” of a vulnerable woman.

He added that the fact her trousers had been undone was “a sinister indication” of their intent and that her 999 call demonstrated how “utterly terrified” she was.

He told the men: “You were both convicted on clear evidence that you had targeted her as a vulnerable individual instead of leaving her at the bar where she had been with friends and where staff were attending to her.

“You marched her off down the street, even carrying her when she passed out completely. You walked away from taxis and seating areas and sought no medical assistance despite her unconscious state.

“The reason was because you both had other ideas as to what to do. Fortunately, she recovered her senses sufficiently, she escaped and called the police.

“I cannot be sure what you ultimately intended and how far any sexual offending would have gone, but the fact her trousers were undone is a sinister indication.

“I sentence you on the basis a sexual assault at least was contemplated. Neither of you have shown remorse or any understanding and have a lack of respect for females.”

On their release, Dukovskis and Brakim will have to sign on the sex offender register for 10 years.