Three teenagers have been sentenced for killing a man they thought was a paedophile on a Kent beach.
A girl, 16, and boy, 15, were found guilty of Alexander Cashford's manslaughter in Leysdown-on-Sea, Kent, in August 2025. Another boy, 16, previously pleaded guilty to the same offence.
The girl and the 16-year-old boy were each given seven years in custody, while the younger boy was given five years.
A trial heard that they lured 49-year-old Cashford to the beach after he gave the girl his phone number in a chance encounter at an arcade two days before.
The judge, Justice Cheema-Grubb, said the killing was an "appalling incident and senseless loss of life".
"You decided to attack a man that none of you knew and two of you had never met," she said in her sentencing remarks at the Old Bailey.
"All he did was give a business card. He did not touch you. You could have thrown it away."
The teenagers will all serve one half of their sentence and the remainder on licence.
Prosecutors said Cashford was chased and hit with rocks and a bottle before he was found lying face down in the mud.
"This was a carefully pre-planned deliberate and violent attack on someone… who could not defend himself," Natalie Smith, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said.
"Despite his best attempts to flee, he was relentlessly pursued and attacked, even when witnesses reported he was lying on the ground."
Cashford, an electrician, had more than 30 external injuries on his body, the jury heard.
During the sentencing at the Old Bailey, his parents said they were "crushed" by what had happened to their "kind, friendly and compassionate" son.
They called his killing "cruel, unnecessary and pointless".
Using the alias Sienna, the three teens – who were on holiday at the time – exchanged some 75 messages with Cashford and arranged to meet him.
Defending the girl, Danny Robinson KC told the court that the texts began as a "laugh" but could have become an attempt to name and shame Cashford.
"It was a childish escapade that got out of hand," he said.
The 16-year-old boy earlier told the jury that they had discussed giving Cashford a "slap".
He claimed police "wouldn't have done anything" if they had reported him for trying to meet the girl.
The boy said during the trial that he believed he had done the right thing.
Cashford had previous convictions for stalking and several driving offences.
The stalking charge related to an incident in 2025 where he followed a young woman home from her work to her house in Gillingham.
The court heard on Thursday that the 16-year-old boy, who has ADHD and is autistic, "could not have had a harder start in life".
"There is no history of violence," his defence lawyer, Danny Moore KC, added.
"This event is one that the court is entitled to treat as completely out of character."
The younger boy, who was 14 at the time of the attack, "played a minor role" in what happened, Benjamin Newton KC said.
He did not arm himself and was not present or involved when missiles were thrown, the defence lawyer added.
The CPS said "key evidence" in the case came from the defendants themselves, with the girl videoing the two boys launching the attack.
Jurors heard that she showed "unwavering enthusiasm" while shouting "paedophile" at Cashford, although character references given in court called her "polite, caring, compassionate".
She is also autistic and did not know a weapon was taken to the meeting with Cashford, according to her defence.
Evidence also came from witnesses, some of whom went to Cashford's aid, the CPS said.
Others tracked the group and reported where they were, leading to swift arrests by Kent Police, it added.
The witnesses also gave evidence about how the defendants appeared to be "gloating" after the attack, according to the CPS.
The teens – who cannot be named for legal reasons due to their age – had been accused of murder.
All three were remorseful of their actions, their defence lawyers said in court.
"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," Det Sgt Alastair Worton said.
"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."
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