Man jailed for stabbing boy, 12, on bouncy castle at sister’s 8th birthday party in front of screaming mum
A MAN has been jailed for stabbing a boy on a bouncy castle at his sister’s 8th birthday party.
The victim, 12, was horrifically knifed in front of his screaming mum as she begged for her son’s attacker to stop his “dangerous and callous assault”.
Mason Clague, 23, chased after the youngster and his 14-year-old pal after they had stepped out of the garden party and headed to buy a drink.
Thug Clague was parked outside a corner shop in Bootle, Merseyside, when he became furious after both boys started throwing stones.
On that terrifying day in April 2021, he started shouting at the pair before going into his home and coming out with a second man, who has not been named.
The 12-year-old boy was then pursued by the duo, back into his nan’s garden, where he was stabbed a shocking number of times.
In the middle of his sister’s birthday celebrations, he was punched, kicked and kneed to the ground.
Clague then brandished a knife stabbing the child three times in the leg during a “frenzied attack”.
Horrifying scenes only came to a halt when the boy’s mum ran out of the house shouting: “He’s only 12.”
Clague replied: “I don’t care. I’ll f***ing kill him.
“I don’t give a f***. I’ll chop the lot of yous.”
Prosecutor Charlotte Atherton told Liverpool Crown Court: “[Both boys] ran through the side gate into the back garden.
“The 14-year-old was in front and he made it back to the relative safety of the house.
“But the 12-year-old was not so lucky, because the defendant caught up with him.
“He was the first to get to him and he began a frenzied attack.”
Ms Atherton went on to say the “level of violence” Clague showed in his threatening words to the schoolboy’s mum, showed the “violence this man intended to inflict – and did inflict”.
On Monday, Clague was found guilty of wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm following a trial.
He was jailed for six years.
Detective Chief Inspector Ben Dyer said: “This was an extremely shocking incident where young boy was attacked and injured.
“The events that day stunned the local community.
“Thankfully the young victim’s injuries were not life threatening but it could easily have ended in tragic circumstances.
“The dangerous and callous assault is still having a significant and lasting impact on the young boy, which will continue for a long time.
“We hope that today’s sentencing will provide the victim and his family with some comfort in knowing that Clague is paying for his crime.
“I hope Clague will use this time to reflect on his despicable actions of that day and realise the significant impact it has had on his victim, his family and children attending the birthday party – a day which was meant to have been a happy occasion.”