Hey Dad! Robert Hughes denied parole review after release denied
Paedophile TV star Robert Hughes, of Hey Dad! fame, has been denied parole because of the risk he poses to the community and is now facing the prospect of serving his full term — until 2025 — behind bars.
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Hey Dad! star and convicted paedophile Robert Hughes has failed in what is likely his final bid for early release after parole authorities declined to let the child abuser plead his case.
The decision means the former television star and sex offender — who had hoped to use some tricky legal manoeuvres to walk free in the UK — will likely now sit in an Australian cell for his full term.
Hughes has been behind bars since May 2014 for sexually and indecently assaulting four girls, including young co-star Sarah Monahan, over a period of 20 years in the 1980s and 1990s.
The 71-year-old was up for parole earlier this year but, in mid-March, the State Parole Authority denied his release because he “presents as an unacceptable risk to community safety”. It also refused an automatic review of his situation.
Hughes effectively appealed the decision asking the authority to set a hearing date so he could argue his case for release to parole.
However on Thursday the State Parole Authority again ruled against him, meaning he will not be considered for parole again until next year.
“The SPA panel agreed a review was not warranted as the reasons for his refusal have not been addressed,” the authority said in a statement on Thursday.
The Daily Telegraph understands his prospects of release in 2021 are not good because he tried to use his dual citizenship to secure a quick route to freedom.
Hughes had been approved to serve the remainder of his decade-long sentence in the UK where his family lives and where he is a citizen.
But four months ago he suddenly withdrew his transfer application and renounced his Australian citizenship.
That means once released on parole he will immediately be deported from Australia to the UK where he will be free to roam without electronic ankle bracelets, phone monitoring or any other release conditions.
The parole board, in March, concluded that without parole supervision he posed too great of a risk to be freed.
They reaffirmed those fears on Thursday.
“The priority for SPA is the safety and protection of the community and the panel determined it is not prepared to release the offender into any community without the safeguard of supervision or parole conditions.”
The decision leaves only two options for Hughes — either he sits in his cell in Australia until his release in January 2025 or he reapplies for transfer to the UK and serves his time there.
Hughes’ victims included former child star Sarah Monahan, who played Hughes on-screen daughter in Hey Dad!
Ms Monahan alleged Hughes had committed sexual crimes at the set of the popular TV show, and her claims were supported by fellow cast members.
