A MAN who beat up and tortured another man who he thought ‘may have been involved in paedophilia’ was jailed for his ‘vigilante’ attack.

Timothy Hodges, 57, was sentenced to 22 months behind bars after he ‘humiliated’ a man alongside Karl Englishby, 36, at his home in Banbury four years ago.

During his ordeal the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was asked to confess to crimes of which the police had ‘no knowledge at all’.

Hodges assaulted him, shaved his pubic hair, put a pair of secateurs to his genitals and threatened to chop off his fingers, Oxford Crown Court heard.

The pair tortured the victim in a 15-minute video clip after befriending him in a pub.

The court heard how Englishby had been already been sentenced to 21 months imprisonment on May 11, but that Hodges had failed to surrender to be sentenced on that day.

Prosecuting Hodges, Wayne Cranston-Morris told the court on Tuesday how Englishby had called the police to tell them he had ‘footage of someone admitting to child sex offences’.

Mr Cranston-Morris added Englishby told officers of his actions and that he had given the victim ‘a good kicking’ with Hodges.

He said the complainant was ‘subjected to a significant assault and physical abuse’ by both defendants.

He added: “He [the victim] was threatened with further action should he complain to the police.”

The court heard how Hodges, of Margaret Close, Banbury, had several previous convictions of theft, ABH and most recently affray in 2015.

Judge Ian Pringle QC said the allegations of paedophilia had no foundation ‘as far as the police were concerned’.

He added: “You shaved his pubic hair and you humiliated him.

“Vigilante behaviour like that is totally unacceptable.”

Judge Pringle said he saw ‘no reason’ to give a different sentence to Hodges than that his co-defendant, but added one month’s imprisonment would run consecutive for the bail act offence.

At Englishby’s sentencing, The court heard how he encouraged Hodges to carry out the horrific interrogation of a man they believed to be a paedophile while capturing the violence on camera.

The middle-aged victim was seen sitting on a kitchen chair without a shirt on, bloodied and bruised after being beaten and threatened until he admitted he was a child abuser. Hodges was described as the ‘ring leader’ while Englishby encouraged him and filmed the shocking episode.

Defence barrister Claire Wade said the defendant suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and was a carer for the wife.

She added Hodges had been ‘drinking heavily’ on the date of the offence.

Ms Wade said: “This defendant was sexually abused from the ages of six to 10 and nothing was done about that.

“Nothing was done about the abuse he suffered and he is angry. He remains angry about it.”

The defence barrister said Hodges did not attend his first sentencing date because his wife was unwell.