Mother knifed child abuser 8 times
A MOTHER of five who stabbed a paedophile eight times was cleared of murder yesterday by a jury who were ‘troubled by the background’ of the case.
Instead they found Sarah Sands guilty of manslaughter after deciding there was a high degree of provocation in the attack.
The 32-year-old stabbed neighbour Michael Pleasted, 77, in his flat within weeks of learning he had allegedly sexually abused three boys.
Sands handed herself in, telling a police officer: ‘Who houses a f***ing paedophile on an estate, like, seriously? He touched some kids, so I took care of it – I stabbed him.’
Pleasted had been awaiting trial for charges of sexual assault on two children under 13. Police were also investigating allegations he had abused a third boy. He had been jailed several times between 1970 and 1991 for a 24 offences. Yesterday Sands sobbed in the dock as she was cleared of murder at the Old Bailey.
Judge Nicholas Cooke said an inquiry was under way into the decision to bail Pleasted.
He said: ‘There are aspects of the way this unfolded which would have concerned the jury – the bail decision and other aspects of the case. I do not have all the information but I want you to know someone will look into these things because you will all be troubled by the background.’ Sands was remanded in custody until sentencing in September.
During the trial, Sands said she had cooked meals for Pleasted on an estate in Canning Town, East London. She thought he was a ‘positive male role model’ for children and defended him when he was accused of being a paedophile.
But when Sands found out he was awaiting trial, she said she wanted to persuade him to confess, sparing the boys the ordeal of testifying.
She drank two bottles of wine and a bottle of brandy before going to his flat with a kitchen knife, a wrench and a hammer in November last year. She said: ‘He knew who I was straight away… He just smirked.’ She followed him into the living room and drew the knife from her handbag when he turned his back. ‘I just had it in my hand and I poked him with it in the front and that’s when we both realised at the same time what had happened and he grabbed me,’ she said. ‘He was frightening me and I pushed him away and I left.’ After stabbing him eight times, she told a neighbour: ‘Pretend you never saw me.’
Sands stashed her blood-spattered clothes and weapons in a carrier bag, then drank a glass of whiskey and half a bottle of wine before handing herself in. Prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC said Sands ‘decided to take revenge on Mr Pleasted for the hurt and turmoil she believed he had inflicted’.