THE Crown Prosecution Service has praised the bravery of two children after a paedophile was handed a life sentence for sexually abusing a girl and attempting to murder a boy.

Anthony Stocks, formerly of an address in Goring, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Friday (July 26) for attempting to murder the boy after he tried to intervene with Stocks assaulting an underage girl.

The 54-year-old had sexually assaulted her on several occasions in the early 2020s. The boy tried to stop the assaults, resulting in Stocks trying to kill the boy.

READ MORE: Sentencing of paedophile who threw boy from cliff after child sex abuse

Judge Nigel Daly handed him a life sentence with a minimum term of 19 and a half years.

Lawyer Celia Mardon for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “It took incredible bravery for the two children who suffered at the hands of Anthony Stocks to give evidence in this case and help bring him to justice.

“Stocks groomed and abused the young girl over several years, and when the boy tried to stop him, Stocks attempted to kill him.

"Both victims’ accounts of Stocks’ actions, including his admission to the girl that he wanted to get rid of the boy and was going to push him over a cliff, provided us with important evidence to support our case.

“With Stocks having received a lengthy prison sentence, both children are now out of harm’s way, and we hope in time they can put what happened behind them.”