Judge sentences man to 18-24 years in prison for kidnapping, assault

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - A judge in New Hanover County sentenced a 37-year-old Wilmington man to 18-24 years in prison for first-degree kidnapping and assault inflicting serious bodily injury on Friday, March 17.

Jawaun Howard Hill was sentenced with a habitual felon status by Judge R. Kent Harrell.

“On January 21, 2021, Hill physically assaulted the victim, a 54-year-old disabled woman, at her home. The defendant broke her orbital socket and multiple ribs, collapsing her lung. The victim also reported that the defendant sexually assaulted her. A friend of the victim stopped by to check on her and heard the victim call out for help. The friend found the victim with her wrists and ankles bound together with duct tape; the friend cut her free and called 911. Hill was known to the victim, who allowed Hill and his girlfriend to stay at her residence at times,” said the District Attorney’s office in a release.

The woman was taken to the hospital, and Hill’s DNA was found on swabs from inside her body by the N.C. State Crime Lab. The jury found him not guilty of first-degree rape.