Man jailed for life for raping girl and pushing boy off cliff – Brighton and Hove news

A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a young girl and pushing a boy off a cliff in Brighton.

Anthony Stocks, 54, attempted to kill the boy after trying to stop Stocks from raping and sexually abusing his underage sister.

Stocks, of Iceni Close, Goring, near Reading, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 19.5 years by Judge Nigel Daly at Oxford Crown Court yesterday (Friday, July 26).

A jury unanimously found Stocks guilty on four counts of sexual abuse of a child under 13, one count each of inducing or soliciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual conduct, rape and attempted murder.

The trial ended on Thursday 6 June and followed a joint investigation by Thames Valley Police and Sussex Police.

They discovered that Stocks hatched a plan to kill the boy after trying to stop him from sexually abusing his sister.

Stocks initially took the boy to a quarry in Oxfordshire to push him over the edge, but then changed his mind.

Then, on Saturday, September 24, 2022, Stocks took the child to the cliffs at Ovingdean, where he put his plan into action and threw the boy over the cliff edge.

The boy fell about 30 meters to the concrete floor. He suffered serious injuries but miraculously survived.

At first it was assumed that the boy’s fall was an accident, but during the police investigation a much more serious reason for the fall emerged.

Stocks was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, rape and other sexual offences on Thursday, November 23 last year and charged the same day.

The court was told that Stocks lived at an address in east Oxfordshire for three years, from 2019 to 2022. There he raped the girl and sexually abused her on several occasions.

When the boy found out what had happened, he valiantly tried to stop Stocks from abusing his sister. That was when Stocks came up with a dirty plan to kill the boy.

He even told the girl that he planned to push her brother off a cliff.

The boy is still suffering from the effects of the fall, but the court was told that he has otherwise made a miraculous recovery.

Deputy Chief Investigator, Detective Sergeant Rachel Jackson, of Thames Valley Police’s Child Abuse Investigation Unit, said: “I am delighted that Stocks has today been sentenced to a very significant sentence for his cruel and malicious offences against two young children.

“Stocks is an extremely dangerous individual who only thinks about himself and has attempted to protect himself from prosecution by removing the boy from the equation.

“He never showed any remorse throughout the entire investigation.

“I would like to thank both victims for their incredible courage and determination in helping us bring Stocks to justice.

“They showed enormous maturity and clarity both in their interrogations with the police and in court regarding what had happened to them.

“It is thanks to this truly inspiring courage that Stocks has now been brought to justice and will now spend a long time in prison, where he deserves to be.

“In my years investigating child abuse, this was one of the worst cases I have dealt with and the impact it has had on both the victims and all the officers and staff who have investigated it cannot be underestimated.

“Both victims have continued to show courage and determination and are going on with their lives wonderfully, with support networks available to them both.”

Detective Inspector Matt Stevens of Sussex Police said: “Anthony Stocks abused the trust of two young people by his deliberate offending.

“Both victims will now have to live with the consequences of Stocks’ crimes for the rest of their lives, but it is a testament to them both that they have cooperated with our investigation and are moving on with their lives.

“They have shown remarkable courage, bravery and determination in supporting this investigation through to completion. I would like to thank them both for helping us bring Stocks to justice.

“The events of Saturday 24 September 2022 were also extremely concerning to the residents of Ovingdean and the wider community.

“It was a miracle that it didn’t end even more tragically and I would also like to thank all those who sent me information and messages of support.

“Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues and detectives at both Thames Valley Police and Sussex Police for their outstanding work in this joint and very complex investigation.

“If you are a victim of a sexual crime, please report it to the police online or on 101. You will be believed and supported. In an emergency, always dial 999.”