Paedophile Hey Dad! TV actor Robert Hughes denied parole, renounces Australian citizenship
A parole bid by convicted child sex offender and former actor Robert Hughes has been decided, six years after he was jailed for molesting his onscreen daughter in the hit television series Hey Dad!
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Paedophile former actor Robert Hughes has been denied parole and has renounced his Australian citizenship.
Six years after Hughes was jailed for molesting his onscreen daughter in the hit television series Hey Dad!, the NSW State Parole Authority determined he “presents as an unacceptable risk to community safety.”
The 71-year-old former dual citizen will be deported to the United Kingdom when he is released, but he won’t be eligible for parole again until 2021 pending any appeal.
Hughes was thrown behind bars in May 2014 for molesting four girls over a period of 20 years in the 1980s and 1990s.
The convicted child sex offender had successfully applied to serve the remainder of his maximum 10-year sentence at a prison in the UK, where his family lives.
“However, three months ago Hughes suddenly withdrew his (transfer) application and renounced his Australian citizenship and his Visa was cancelled,” the SPA said in a statement.
“If released to parole, (he) would be deported immediately to the UK where he would not be supervised, electronically monitored or required to comply with any conditions of his parole.”
NSW and the UK do not have reciprocal arrangements for parolees, only prisoners.
During a private meeting on Thursday the SPA decided that without “structured post release plans” and parole supervision, Hughes posed too great a risk to be freed.
He will not be considered again until at least 60 days before his parole eligibility anniversary date on April 6, 2021.
That’s unless Hughes successfully applies for the decision to be reviewed, in which case a public hearing will be held in open court at a later date.
“The SPA also refused to grant Hughes an automatic review of the decision,” the body said.
His victims included former child star Sarah Monahan, who played Hughes’ onscreen daughter in the hit television series Hey Dad!
Hughes was moved from Goulburn jail to Long Bay Correctional Complex after a court was told he had been showered in urine and had faeces thrown at him by fellow inmates.
