Three teenagers who killed a man they believed was a paedophile by luring him to a beach and pelting him with rocks have been sentenced to prison. The trio, consisting of two boys aged 16 and 15 and a 16-year-old girl, encountered their victim, Alexander Cashford, in Leysdown-on-Sea last August. Mr. Cashford, 49, had given the girl his phone number in an arcade, later calling her 'really pretty' and asking if she liked champagne. He told the teen her age did not put him off and lied about his own, claiming he was 30.
The meeting he had planned with 'Sienna' quickly turned into an ambush. The girl filmed as the two boys chased him to the seafront while she screamed 'f***ing paedophile, get him.' Just over an hour later, Mr. Cashford was dead. Witnesses saw him shouting for help as he ran towards the beach, with others describing the older boy throwing rocks at his lifeless body lying face down in the mud.
The girl and the younger boy were both convicted of manslaughter following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court. The older boy admitted the same charge part-way through. All three were unanimously cleared of murder. The older boy and the girl, who cried loudly as she was taken back down to the cells, were each jailed for seven years. The younger boy received a five-year sentence.
Jailing them, Judge Mrs. Justice Cheema-Grubb told them: 'You did a terrible thing and you are each paying a price for it.' She added that they are young 'and will still be young when you rejoin society' with 'great potential' to live 'fulfilling' lives.
Jurors were told Mr. Cashford gave the girl his number on August 8 after meeting her by chance at the Playtime Arcade, and that he also handed her a business card with a different name. Using the alias 'Sienna,' the three teenagers exchanged messages with Mr. Cashford and arranged to meet him by the sea wall. The 16-year-old boy had saved Mr. Cashford's number in his own phone as 'pedo,' and around 75 messages were sent between them, the trial heard. Mr. Cashford asked the girl if she liked champagne and said he wanted to kiss her, with 'Sienna' then suggesting they meet at her parents' empty home and telling him to bring alcohol.
Prosecutor Kate Blumgart KC told jurors: 'These three defendants did happen by chance to meet Mr. Cashford. What happened thereafter however was not by chance. They were so outraged by his interest in 'Sienna' that they deliberately planned to meet him and to attack him. This was a joint attack with each of them playing a vital part.'
During his evidence, the older boy was asked if, in the immediate aftermath, he had thought he had 'done the right thing' by attacking him. The boy replied: 'Yeah, kind of, yeah.' Asked why, he said: 'Because I feel like the police wouldn't have done anything.'
Danny Robinson KC, defending the girl, told the trial that texting Mr. Cashford started as a 'big laugh' and may have turned 'into a desire to expose him as someone who should be named and shamed.' However, the attack was not the product of 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,' he said. The girl and the younger male defendant said there was never a plan to hit Mr. Cashford.
A post-mortem examination showed Mr. Cashford had injuries to his face and head, bruises on his limbs and body, and a number of fractured ribs that had punctured his lung. A statement from Mr. Cashford's parents, David and Linda, read out at the sentencing hearing described him as a 'kind, friendly and compassionate person' who cared about local animals and wildlife, and loved all sports. They said they were 'emotionally crushed' and the impact on the family was 'practically impossible to put into words.' They added he was the rock in their life and 'the slander against Alex's name is particularly difficult, we know this could not be further from the truth.'
A statement read from his sister Emma Gould said she has been left an only child after her brother was taken away in a 'cruel and violent' way. She added: 'How will I explain to my six-year-old son he will never see his uncle again?'
Natalie Smith, senior prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'This was a carefully pre-planned deliberate and violent attack on someone who was not expecting it and who could not defend himself. He was first hit from behind with a bottle and despite his best attempts to flee, he was relentlessly pursued and attacked, even when witnesses reported he was lying on the ground. Immediately after the group met Mr. Cashford and got his mobile number, they sent him messages, trying to make the arrangements to meet him when it was dark. They lured him to meet the girl, but it wasn't just her who was waiting to meet him. All three defendants were ready, in the full knowledge that their plan was to attack Mr. Cashford. As he walked along, Mr. Cashford had no idea that there was a plan to attack him. Their joint actions on that fateful evening led to Alexander Cashford's death. His family now at least have the comfort of knowing that those responsible have been brought to justice.'
