A rapist who threw a boy off a cliff to try to cover up his crimes has been sentenced to life in prison, serving a minimum term of 19 and a half years.
Anthony Stocks tried to kill a boy he discovered had raped a girl, a trial at Oxford Crown Court heard.
The 54-year-old man devised a plan to kill him after the child tried to stop him from attacking the girl.
Stocks pushed the boy off a cliff, but miraculously he survived the 30-meter (100-foot) fall.
The boy still suffers from ongoing problems as a result of the attempted murder.
The fall was initially ruled an accident, but Stocks’ crimes were discovered during an investigation.
Stocks, who is from Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshirewas found guilty by unanimous jury verdict of four counts of sexual assault on a child under 13 and one count of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, rape and attempted murder.
One of the officers who worked on the joint investigation between Thames Valley and Sussex Police called it “one of the worst cases I have ever dealt with”.
Stocks had previously taken the boy to a quarry in Oxfordshire with the plan to push him off the cliff, but changed his mind, Thames Valley Police said.
On September 24, 2022, Stocks took the boy to see Chelsea Football Club, before heading to Brighton and the cliffs of Ovingdean, where he pushed him.
Stocks was later arrested in November 2023.
During the investigation, police discovered he had raped and sexually assaulted a girl several times from 2019 to 2022 when he was staying at an address in east Oxfordshire.
The girl had confided in the boy about the abuse and when he tried to intervene, putting himself in Stocks’ path to try to stop him, the rapist began planning to kill him – and told the girl his plan.
Deputy Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Sergeant Rachel Jackson, from Thames Valley Police’s Child Abuse Investigation Unit, said: “I am pleased that today Stocks has received a very significant sentence for his horrific and evil crimes against two children small.
“Stocks is an extremely dangerous individual who thought of no one but himself to protect himself from prosecution by removing the boy from the equation.
“He has never shown any remorse during this investigation.
“I would like to commend both victims for their unbelievable courage and determination which helped us bring Stocks to justice.
“They showed immense maturity and clarity, both in interviews with police and in court, about what had happened to them.”
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She added that the case was one of the worst she had ever dealt with, but that both victims were moving on with their lives “magnificently”.
Detective Inspector Matt Stevens, of Sussex Police, said: “Anthony Stocks’ calculated offense betrayed the trust of two young men.
“Both victims must now live with the impact of Stocks’ crimes for the rest of their lives, but it is a testament to both of them how they supported our investigation and are moving on with their lives.
“They demonstrated remarkable courage, bravery and determination to support this investigation to its conclusion. I would like to thank you both for helping us bring Stocks to justice.
“The events of 24 September 2022 were also extremely alarming for the residents of Ovingdean and the wider community.
“It was a miracle it didn’t end in more tragic circumstances.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
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