Three teenagers who killed a man they accused of being a paedophile have been sentenced to custody. Alexander Cashford, 49, was lured to a beach in Kent before one of the trio threw rocks and a bottle at him. He was found lying face down in the mud on August 10 last year.
The Attack
A boy and a girl, both 16, and a 15-year-old boy—who cannot be named for legal reasons—were unanimously acquitted of murder following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court in February. However, the girl and the 15-year-old boy were found guilty of manslaughter, while the 16-year-old boy admitted to manslaughter days into the trial.
Jurors were told that Mr Cashford had met the girl by chance at an amusement arcade on August 8 and had given her his number and a business card with a name that was not his. The three teenagers exchanged messages with Mr Cashford using the alias Sienna and arranged to meet him by the sea wall.
Around 75 messages were exchanged between the 16-year-old boy and Mr Cashford, who had been saved as 'pedo' in the boy's phone, the trial was told. The court heard that the man, who claimed to be 30, asked the girl if she liked champagne and said he wanted to kiss her. 'Sienna' suggested he bring alcohol and meet her at her parents' empty home.
When Mr Cashford and the girl met, the two boys followed them as they walked along the promenade in the Isle of Sheppey. Mobile phone footage showed the older boy striking Mr Cashford on the head with a bottle. Mr Cashford fled as both boys ran after him, filmed by the girl who shouted, 'F*****g paedophile, I'm f*****g 16, get him.' One eyewitness described a rock 'the size of a cereal bowl' being thrown at Mr Cashford by the 16-year-old boy.
The court heard that the older boy later shared footage of the attack with three people, with the caption: 'f****d pedo (sic) up lol'.
Defence Arguments
During the trial, the boy claimed he attacked Mr Cashford because he felt police 'wouldn't have done anything' if they had reported him for trying to meet up with the girl. Danny Moore KC, representing the boy, said he felt genuine remorse for what he did and asked for the shortest possible sentence for the boy who 'couldn't have had a harder beginning in life'.
Danny Robinson KC, defending the girl, told the trial that texting Mr Cashford was initially a 'big laugh' and may have turned 'into a desire to expose him as someone who should be named and shamed'. It was not, he said, an 'organised plan to kill or cause anyone really serious harm, it was a childish escapade that got out of hand very quickly with tragic consequences'. Mr Robinson said the girl had thought about what she did wrong and was, in an expert's view, remorseful for her actions.
Barrister Benjamin Newton KC, representing the 15-year-old defendant, asked for an intense supervision order instead of youth detention for the boy, whom he said 'played a minor role' in the incident. He said the boy, who was 14 at the time, did not arm himself when he had the opportunity to do so.
Sentencing
During the sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey on Thursday, April 30, the 16-year-old girl and the 16-year-old boy were sentenced to seven years in custody, and the 15-year-old boy was handed a five-year term. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said she accepted it started out as a 'bit of mischief' but said it had turned into 'dangerous misconduct which risked and ultimately took a man's life'.
The judge told the young defendants that none of them could 'sensibly claim' to have been led on or manipulated into bad behaviour, adding: 'You all planned to trap and harm this man over a few days and as a group. It was an appalling incident and a senseless loss of life.'
Victim Impact
Mr Cashford had injuries to his face and head, as shown by a post-mortem examination. He also had bruises on his limbs and body, and a number of fractured ribs that had punctured his lung. A statement from Mr Cashford's parents, read out at the sentencing hearing, described him as a 'kind, friendly and compassionate person'. The couple said they were 'emotionally crushed', adding: 'The slander against Alex's name is particularly difficult, we know this could not be further from the truth.'
Police Statement
Following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Alastair Worton from Kent Police said: 'Alexander Cashford's life was cut short following a vicious attack carried out by a group of teenagers who plotted to meet him under false pretences. The devastating outcome of the offenders' brutal actions that day has left a family grieving the loss of a loved one and young lives changed forever. The sentencing imposed on the offenders reflects the conspiratorial nature of their behaviour and the tragic consequences of their crime.'
