Paedophile raped girl and then threw boy who found out off 100ft cliff
A paedophile who raped a girl then tried to murder a boy he feared would expose his crimes by throwing him off a 100ft clifftop in Brighton has been jailed for life.
Anthony Stocks was told he would spend at least 19 years in jail for trying to kill the 10-year-old boy at Ovingdean, Sussex, and launching attacks on the girl over a three-year period.
The 54-year-old predator, who said he worked as an extra on film sets, groomed and attacked the girl repeatedly and wanted to “marry” her, Oxford Crown Court was told.
Stocks’s crimes came to light after the “scared” girl eventually confided in the boy, neither of whom can be named for legal reasons.
Aware that the boy was planning to put a stop to his attacks, Stocks took the boy to Ovingdean in September 2022 and threw him off the 100ft cliff. It was heard that the paedophile had previously contemplated pushing him off a cliff at a quarry several weeks earlier.
A witness described how they saw a “small shape fall” from the Brighton cliff before hearing a blood-curdling “shriek”.
The boy was airlifted to St George’s Hospital in London, where it was discovered he had several fractures on his head and arm, a deformity to his neck and a laceration of his spleen and kidney.
When interviewed by police, the girl said Stocks had admitted he was going to push the boy off the cliff “to get rid of him”.
Detective Sergeant Rachel Jackson, of Thames Valley Police, called the girl’s ordeal “one of the worst cases of child abuse” she had ever investigated.
Stocks was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 and one charge of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
He was also found guilty of one count of rape of a child on at least three occasions and attempted murder. He denied all the charges
‘You have ruined the lives of two children’
Stocks, of Goring, Reading, was told the minimum term he would have to serve before he could be considered for release was 19-and-a-half years.
Judge Daly told him: “You have ruined the lives of these two children.”
Referring to the sexual assaults, the judge continued: “You groomed and assaulted this vulnerable young girl for your own deviant sexual pleasure.
“It happened time and time again and it’s clear from the evidence that you became utterly obsessed with her and would go to any level to stop anyone interfering with your abhorrent behaviour.
“You have heard the effect the injuries have had on [the boy].
“He has been severely traumatised by what you did to him, made even worse because he thought he was going on a special trip. He trusted you and you betrayed that trust to cover up your own sexual deviant behaviour.”
He added: “This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, the evidence shows you had researched your plan.
“You made internet enquiries about trains to Brighton and the distance from the seafront to the cliffs.
“You told [the girl] about your plans to get rid of [the boy].
“At the bottom of the cliffs was a concrete path by sheer coincidence at the point where he landed the concrete did not quite reach but there was an area of rough ground.
“If he landed two or three feet to the side he would have landed on concrete and I do not doubt he would have been killed instantly.”
Danger assessment
Judge Daly said if an adult assaulted a young girl and then pushed a boy off a cliff, the resulting danger assessment would “be obvious”.
However, he said “he must be satisfied he poses a risk of serious harm to the public”.
He said: “You have reached the age of 54 without committing other offences of a similar nature, you have significant disabilities of your own.
“However, your total failure to accept responsibility for what you’ve done together with your ongoing obsession with a child gives me grave concerns.
“Your inability to recognise what you’ve done leads me to believe that you are even more dangerous.
“There is a significant risk to members of the public, particularly to young girls. I am quite sure if you had not been prevented your abuse of [the girl] would have continued.
“The criteria is made and made a finding that you are dangerous.”
Turning to mitigation, Judge Daly took into account that Stocks had a low IQ and learning difficulties as well as a diagnosis of depressive disorder.
“You had a depraved background,” the judge said. “You suffered emotional abuse. You are assessed as being extremely vulnerable to exploitation in prison.
“You are regarded as being a vulnerable adult and have had suicidal thoughts.”
Stocks was found guilty after a 13-day trial heard over May and June.