In a truly disturbing story that’s currently splitting opinion online, three teenagers have been found guilty of luring a 49-year-old man to an isolated beach and beating him to death with rocks as they yelled that he was a “pedo”.
In Aug, 2025 on the Isle of Sheppey in the UK, the victim, Alexander Cashford, had gone into a seaside arcade and had met a 16-year-old girl. The two briefly spoke, Cashford handed her his business card, and left. Comments by police indicate he knew she was 16 when they met.
The girl and two of her male friends, aged 15 and 16, then began messaging him under the fake name Sienna. In the messages, Cashford said he was 30, asked if she liked champagne, and said he wanted to kiss her.
BREAKING: Teenagers have been found guilty of the manslaughter of a man at a seaside resort after he arranged to meet a 16-year-old girlhttps://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 16, 2026Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/fKaOMsxTv0
‘Sienna’ then told Cashford to meet her at an isolated spot at the sea wall a few days later. He duly arrived to meet ‘Sienna’ at the time agreed, and she “lured him to a secluded location where he was attacked”.
The attack was recorded and uploaded to social media, showing the two boys attacking Cashford and the girl encouraging them. Cashford attempted to run away, but was pursued and collapsed, with the defendants throwing rocks at his head and then kicking him.
A 16-year-old boy has today pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Alexander Cashford on a Sheppey beach.
— London & UK Street News (@CrimeLdn) January 15, 2026
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, now accepts responsibility
Video of Cashford getting attacked at the beach.. pic.twitter.com/7VjkF6Z4je
The footage shows the boys yelling that Cashford is a “f–king pedo!”, with the girl shouting ““f–king pedophile, I’m f–king 16! Get him!”
Cashman died at the scene, with the post-mortem showing injuries to his face and head, bruises on his limbs and body, and several fractured ribs that had punctured his lung. Minutes after his death, the video of the attack was uploaded to social media under the title “F–king pedo up lol”.
“There was nothing illegal to his behavior on that day”
Cops have underlined that Cashford wasn’t breaking the law:
“There was nothing illegal to his behavior on that day. There’s clearly maybe some moral stance on that, but what he’d actually done is nothing wrong. He was made aware that the female defendant in this case was 16 – she was actually 16 – and in the eyes of the law, he hadn’t done anything wrong.”
Two of the teens have now been found guilty of manslaughter, with a third having already pled guilty. It’s easy to see why this case has divided opinion, with many saying that the victim had it coming for arranging to meet a 16-year-old.
It’s worth underlining that the age of consent in the UK is 16, though, frankly, regardless of the law it’s deeply gross for a middle-aged man to pursue a teenager. But does doing that deserve being beaten to death? Whatever your take, four lives are ruined: one man is dead, and three teenagers will presumably now spend years behind bars.
