A PAEDOPHILE who attempted to murder a 10-year-old boy by throwing him off a clifftop in Brighton after he was caught sexually abusing a young girl has been handed a life sentence.

Anthony Stocks, formerly of an address in Goring, was found guilty after a trial at Oxford Crown Court on June 6 of attempting to murder the boy after he tried to intervene with Stocks assaulting an underage girl.

The 54-year-old wanted to ‘marry’ the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and had sexually assaulted her on several occasions in the early 2020s.

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It was heard that the boy, who also cannot be named for legal reasons, tried to stop the assaults, resulting in Stocks trying to kill the boy.

Stocks was also found guilty of four counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, one charge of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one count of rape of a child on at least three occasions.

At the same court on Friday (July 26), Judge Nigel Daly handed him a life sentence with a minimum term of 19-and-a-half-years.

He said: "You have ruined the lives of these two children."

During the sentencing, prosecutor Zoe Johnson KC read out victim impact statements from the children.

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The girl said: "I was scared all the time. My life was different from other children and I was always at home.

"[Stocks] frightened me, I couldn't get away from him.

"Now, I have a proper life. I go to school and I have fun."

The boy said: "I was too young to have to protect [the girl]. Someone else should have to do that.

"It made me grow up quicker. It was stressful. I felt angry at the time and I feel angry now.

"I now know that [Stocks] pushed me off the cliff. I can't find the right words to say how that makes me feel."

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Defending Stocks, his barrister Martin Rutherford said there were four key factors that meant the sentence 'should be one that ultimately gives Mr Stocks some hope of release in the distant future'. 

Those were his previous character, his learning difficulties, how this impacts his thinking and dangerousness.

He said: "He knows that sex with children is wrong. He knows that trying to kill [the boy] is and was wrong. But whether he has the skills to actually comprehend the depth and scale of his wrongdoing is a more moot point."

Concluding, Judge Daly praised the children, saying: "[The children] suffered from an appalling upbringing. Their determination and courage to give their account was humbling to witness.

"Both gave their evidence in a remarkably clear and mature way. I found them both very impressive and they should be very proud of themselves."