A BELFAST man has been jailed for his part in the kidnap and attack on another man incorrectly deemed to be a 'paedo.'
Paul Creighton (46), from Tates Avenue, was handed a seven-year sentence for his role in the attack.
During the victim's two-hour ordeal, he was beaten with an iron bar, an attempt was made to carve the word 'paedo' onto his forehead, and he was also hooded, bound and dumped in a derelict house in the west of the city.
Also appeared in Belfast Crown Court on charges arising from the same incident was a youth who is now 17 and who was 14 at the time.
The youth admitted hitting the victim several times with an iron bar - but he was spared jail after the victim said that if he showed genuine remorse, he should be given a second chance.
The youth was given a 240-hour community service order, will be under the supervision of the Youth Justice Agency for a year and was also ordered to write a letter of apology to the victim.
The court heard that the attack took place at a house in the Village area of Belfast on May 15, 2013.
The victim, who was 38 at the time, had struck up a friendship with a female and the two talked and swapped numbers.
The female was under 18, and the court heard there was no evidence to suggest anything untoward had occurred between the man and the teenager.
During the ordeal which began in the Village area of Belfast on May 15, 2013, the man was threatened and repeatedly called a paedo.
The youth admitted striking the man several times with an iron bar, whilst Creighton later admitted trying to carve the word 'paedo' onto the victim's forehead with a Stanley knife.
The knife was also pushed against his throat whilst threats were being issued.
The man was then bound, hooded and put into the boot of his own car. Creighton drove the car to a derelict house on the Springfield Road, and before being dumped there, the victim was attacked again.
After he freed himself, the man was treated for multiple wounds - including 16 sutures to his forehead and three sutures to his ear.
Creighton, a father of two, admitted five charges including kidnapping, wounding with intent and aggravated vehicle taking.
The youth - who also admitted five charges including kidnapping, wounding and possessing an iron bar with intent - later said he was "sickened" when he saw the Stanley knife being used on the man and has since expressed both remorse for his actions and empathy for the victim.
Creighton will spend half his seven year sentence in prison, with the remainder on supervised licence upon his release.
