Man ‘threw 10-year-old boy off 30-metre cliff after trying to stop him from raping his sister’

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A terrified 10-year-old boy was thrown over a 30 meter cliff and incredibly survived the fall after trying to stop a man from raping his sister, a jury has heard.

Anthony Stocks, 54, is accused of taking the boy to a cliff in Brighton, East Sussex, and throwing him over the edge after the child tried to stop him from raping his underage sister. He denies all allegations.

Oxford Crown Court heard how the incident unfolded before the eyes of a witness who was walking along the foot of the towering white chalk cliffs when he heard a “scream” and “saw a small figure fall as if thrown from the cliff.” “.

Stocks, who was described by the prosecution in court as manipulative and selfish, stood before the jury accused of raping a girl under 13 and attempting to murder the 10-year-old boy – allegations he denies.

Prosecutor Zoe Johnson told the jury at the opening of the case: “The defendant forced a girl under the age of 13 to have sexual contact with him, even though he knew it was wrong.”

“The boy had begun to intervene. Without the knowledge of the boy’s mother, the defendant then took him to Brighton and in particular to the cliffs.

“That afternoon, the boy fell 100 feet from the cliff edge to the concrete walkway below.

“Miraculously he did not die but was very seriously injured and had to be flown to a London hospital. Initially it was assumed that what had happened to him was a terrible accident – but the investigation revealed a different and much darker picture.”

The prosecutor told the jury that Stocks pushed the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, over the cliff with the intent to kill him.

“The defendant attempted to murder him by pushing him off the cliff,” she told the jury. “The defendant may have immediately regretted his actions – but the moment he pushed the victim, it was the culmination of a plan to get the boy out of the way so he could not intervene.”

She added that the attempted murder had been “planned” as Stocks had previously taken the boy to a quarry in Oxfordshire and “considered” pushing the boy off the cliff, but then changed his mind.

The twice-married defendant, from Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, took the boy on a train from London and arrived in Brighton on the afternoon of the alleged offense, which took place in the early 2020s.

An eyewitness was walking with a friend towards the cliff steps when he saw the boy and the defendant walking along the grassy edge towards the cliff top.

“The boy had his hands outstretched as if he were balancing; he seemed to be having fun,” the prosecutor said. “The defendant walked behind him and followed his pace.”

The jury heard that Mr Boulding and his friend made their way back to the Undercliff and noticed a crowd of people. As they got closer, they realized they were surrounding the child, who was “obviously in poor condition” – but still alive.

The prosecutor added that Stocks did not flee the scene but joined the various passersby who came to the child’s aid, the jury heard.

“The defendant spoke to a number of people at the scene, civilians and members of the emergency services.” Jurors heard that his account of events was inconsistent, rolled a cigarette and looked at his phone.

The court found that the child’s injuries were very serious, including multiple deep cuts to the scalp, abrasions to the chest, multiple bruises, multiple fractures to the left arm and a deformity of the left shoulder.

He was sedated, his arm was splinted and flown by helicopter to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London, where he had to be resuscitated before he fell into a medical coma.

Due to the “extremely severe impact trauma” the boy suffered, he has no memory of the fall itself, the jury said.

The defendant, who is originally from Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, was arrested shortly after the fall on suspicion of child neglect and causing or allowing serious injury to a child.

He told police that he asked the boy if he wanted to go to the sea before taking him to the cliffs near Brighton Marina.

The defendant said he sat on a bench and smoked a cigarette while the boy stood on the edge of the cliffs. The prosecutor continued: “Mr Stocks lowered his head and suddenly the boy was gone. The defendant thought he was hiding. He ran and found him at the bottom of the cliff.”

Stocks was arrested again on May 12 last year on suspicion of sexual activity with a child under 13 and rape of a child under 13.

At the beginning of the police interview, his lawyer read out a prepared statement on behalf of the defendant in which he stated: “I am not sexually attracted to children and have neither attempted nor instigated any sexual activity with children.”

He then refused to answer officers’ questions. Stocks was arrested again on November 23, 2023 on suspicion of attempted murder.

The process should continue.