Liverpool student faces prison after attacking 12-year-old boy on a bouncy castle

An Edge Hill University student has been found guilty of attacking a 12-year-old boy at a birthday party.

Mason Clague, 22, inflicted stab wounds on the boy during the attack, which took place on a bouncy castle at a birthday party on Southport Road, Bootle.

Clague has denied attacking the child in the back garden of his grandmother’s home in April 2021 and will be sentenced next week, Liverpool Echo reports.

Following the trial at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, September 18th, Clague was found guilty of wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, but cleared of possession of a bladed article.

The jury retired for a mere 20 minutes before reaching an unanimous decision, finding Clague guilty of the attack. The victim’s mum was amongst three other party-goers who identified Clague in court as one of the child’s attackers.

Prosecutor Charlotte Atherton told the court the 12-year-old had left his younger sister’s birthday party along with a 14-year-old friend to go to a local shop, where the pair were “larking about” and throwing stones from a park area.

One stone landed near Clague as he crossed the street causing him to angrily run into his own house and reappear with another man who has not been identified. The pair continued to chase the youngsters into the garden of the property.

Clague chased the child onto a bouncy castle and proceeded to “punch, kick and knee” him as the unknown man stabbed him in the leg and buttocks area several times. The boy said he felt a “poke in the leg” and told police he believed he had been stabbed by both of the men.

He told police: “He (Clague) jumped on top of me and started punching my face, going ‘who are you lad?’ I didn’t know what to do so I punched him back. The other one ran over and started poking me in the leg

“He was punching me still and he dragged me up by my hair and he was kicking me in the face. Everyone was screaming. My mum ran out and he was still kicking me and she screamed, and the lad was shouting ‘I’ll chop all of yous’.”

The victim didn’t realise he had received several stab wounds until the attack was over and he was in his grandmother’s kitchen. He said: “It was itchy. I felt something dripping down me. I itched it and saw I had a hole (in my trousers). I pulled my pants down and that’s when I said to my mate ‘I’ve been stabbed, help me.’ I was in the kitchen. I was holding onto the sink.”

Sustaining his innocence, Clague claimed to have never left his home on the day of the attack saying: “I have lived in that house for 22 years. I know for a fact they have just seen the two lads run from the direction of my house and they are trying to pin it on me.”

Clague will be sentenced next Wednesday, September 27th.

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