Pair, 14, guilty of killing suspected paedophile

A boy and girl who killed a suspected paedophile "to teach him a lesson" are facing years behind bars.

The 14-year-olds killed Robert Daley, 45, after lawyers dropped a sex abuse case against him.

Mr Daley was found dying of five stab wounds in his Brixton flat on April 23, hours after being told he would not be prosecuted.

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The teenagers, who are now 15, were found guilty at the Old Bailey on 10-2 majorities yesterday. The boy was found guilty of murder and the girl was found guilty of manslaughter.

The pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were remanded in custody for sentencing next month.

The jury heard the girl, her 16-year-old sister and a woman had complained to police that the heavy drinking crack user had abused them, but only the 16-year-old had been willing to proceed with her allegations.

Soon after receiving a call from police telling him lawyers considered there was a lack of evidence, Mr Daley rang her. She texted him back telling him to stay away from her and calling him "a pervert".

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She then rang her sister and the boy – the father of the baby she was expecting.

The 14-year-olds arrived at Mr Daley's home later that day and a struggle broke out in the kitchen.

He was fatally injured when two knife wounds punctured his heart.

The teenagers denied the charges and told the jury Mr Daley had grabbed the girl round her throat and was trying to indecently assault her.

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They said the boy started jabbing him with a knife to try to free the girl as she struggled with 6ft 1in Mr Daley.

The girl wept as she told the court she had been indecently assaulted by Mr Daley twice when she was 12.

Jonathan Rees QC, prosecuting, told the court the evidence suggested Mr Daley was something of a "Jekyll and Hyde character".

But he warned that "this is not a vigilante society" and people were not allowed to take the law into their own hands.

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"We maintain that following the telephone call, the defendants set out to teach him a lesson using violence."

Following the hearing, a CPS spokeswoman said it had considered all the evidence in the sex abuse allegations before deciding not to go ahead.

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