Three teenagers who killed man they believed was a paedophile have been jailed

Three teenagers who lured a man they believed to be a paedophile to a beach, then chased and killed him, have been jailed.

A 16-year-old girl and two boys, aged 15 and 16, were convicted of manslaughter over the killing of Alexander Cashford in Leysdown-on-Sea, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, on 10 August last year.

The teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were acquitted of murder.

At the Old Bailey on Thursday the two 16-year-old defendants were jailed for seven years and the 15-year-old boy was jailed for five years over the killing.

Woolwich Crown Court heard the teenagers thought Mr Cashford, 49, was a paedophile and lured him to the beach before hitting him with rocks and a bottle. He was found lying face down in the mud.

Jurors were told the victim had given the girl his number on 8 August after meeting her at an amusement arcade and had handed her a business card, which included a name that was not his.

The three teenagers exchanged messages with Mr Cashford, who claimed to be 30. He asked the girl, who used the alias Sienna, if she liked champagne and added that he wanted to kiss her, the court heard.

After arranging to meet by the sea wall, the older boy said he attacked the victim because he felt police "wouldn't have done anything" if they reported him for trying to meet up with the girl.

The girl shouted "f****** paedophile, I'm f****** 16, get him" as she filmed the boys chasing Mr Cashford.

Never a plan to hit victim

The older boy accepted he wanted to use a bottle he was carrying to hurt the victim, but said he did not believe it would cause "serious injury".

The girl and the younger male defendant said there was never a plan to hit Mr Cashford, the court heard.

A post-mortem examination showed Mr Cashford had injuries to his face and head, bruises on his limbs and body, and several fractured ribs that had punctured his lung.

Parents 'emotionally crushed'

Mr Cashford's parents, David and Linda, said in a statement read out at the sentencing hearing that their son was 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 and her brother was taken away in a "cruel and violent" way.

"How will I explain to my six-year-old son he will never see his uncle again?," She asked.

Footage posted 'a few minutes after' victim's death

Mobile phone footage showed the boy striking him on the head with the bottle.

After he was arrested, the 16-year-old shared the footage with three people, with the caption: "f***** pedo (sic) up lol", the trial heard.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber from Kent Police said: "What we found almost quite macabre is they were keen to post that [attack] on social media only a few minutes after his death."

During the attack, the court heard the 16-year-old boy threw a rock "the size of a cereal bowl", according to an eyewitness.

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Danny Moore KC, defending him, asked for the shortest possible sentence, as the boy, who "couldn't have had a harder beginning in life", felt genuine remorse for what he did.

In their evidence, the girl and the younger male defendant said there was never a plan to hit Mr Cashford.

Danny Robinson KC, defending her, told the trial 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".

Sentencing the trio in front of a packed public gallery on Thursday, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said she accepted it started out as a "bit of mischief", but turned into "dangerous misconduct which risked and ultimately took a man's life".

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