A MAN threw a ten-year-old boy off a 100-foot cliff when the youngster tried to stop him from raping his sister, a court heard.
Anthony Stocks, 54, is accused of “grooming” the girl after telling his mental health professional he was getting married.
3
3
When confronted by the alleged rape victim’s brother, Stocks threw him off a cliff in Brighton onto a concrete path below, it is said.
Jurors heard how horrified witnesses heard a “scream” before seeing a “small shape” fall to the ground.
The boy remarkably survived the fall but was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries.
Prosecutor Zoe Johnson KC said: “It was initially believed that what happened to him was a terrible accident – but investigations revealed a different and much darker picture.”
Oxford Crown Court heard that Stocks secretly took the student to Brighton and considered dumping him in a quarry.
Mrs Johnson said he deliberately pushed him off the cliff with the intention of killing him.
She added: “The defendant may have instantly regretted what he did – but the moment he pushed the victim, it was the climax of a plan to get the boy out of the way so he could no longer interfere.”
O Horror it happened on September 24, when the pair traveled by train from London to the seaside city.
Twice-married Stocks first took the boy to the dock before they took a taxi to the marina.
Witness Anthony Boulding said the boy appeared to be “having fun” as he and Stocks climbed a grassy verge to the top of the cliffs.
But about ten minutes later, he heard a noise before seeing a shape “fall as if thrown” from a height.
He and a friend went to the concrete path under the cliff and saw the injured young man.
The shares did not flee and instead joined the public who rushed to help, jurors heard.
One spectator recalled hearing Stocks allegedly say “I told him not to go near the edge” before sitting down to roll a cigarette.
The boy was sedated and flown to a hospital in London, where he had to be resuscitated before being placed in a medically induced coma.
Because of the “extremely high impact trauma” he suffered, the boy has no memory of the fall itself, the court was told.
The prosecutor added: “The child described the top of the cliff and saw the beach below. She remembered looking down and seeing how steep it was.
“He thought he had been there for between three and five minutes. He remembered the two fence wires in front of him. He could touch them and they were waist high and he could see the beach over them. The defendant was walking with him and stood a little behind him.
“He explained to the police: ‘Either I slipped or I was pushed.’ next The only thing he remembered was being in the hospital.”
Stocks was originally arrested on suspicion of child neglect and causing or permitting serious injury to a child.
He was later arrested again on suspicion of sexual activity with a child under 13 and rape of a child under 13.
His lawyer read a prepared statement at the beginning of Stocks’ police interview which stated: “I am not sexually attracted to children and have not attempted to engage in or instigate sexual activity with children.”
Stocks denies sexual assault and rape against a girl under 13, as well as attempted murder of the boy and cruelty to a child.
The trial continues.
3
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
