TV star Robert Hughes refused parole
Disgraced TV star and convicted child molester Robert Hughes’ attempt to trick parole authorities into letting him out of prison unsupervised has backfired.
Disgraced TV star and convicted child molester Robert Hughes’ attempt to trick parole authorities into letting him out of prison unsupervised has backfired.
The disgraced Hey Dad! actor, who has shown no remorse for his abuse of a child star and others, has been exposed for trying to hoodwink the system.
If he had succeeded, the 71-year-old child sex offender, who the NSW State Parole Authority (SPA) today called “unacceptable risk to community safety”, would have been free to roam unsupervised.
Hughes’ crafty legal move between the UK and Australian systems would have seen him expelled from Australia and deported back to Britain where his wife and daughter live.
Instead of being under the eyes of parole authorities until 2025, Hughes would have been unsupervised, wear no electronic monitoring anklet and have no conditions, such as staying away from children.
But SPA today not only denied Hughes’ parole application for release on April 6, but also his automatic right for a review in a public hearing of that refusal.
Instead it ruled Hughes “must now submit an application and satisfy the SPA that a public review hearing is warranted otherwise the decision to refuse parole will stand and he will not be reconsidered until 2021”.
In announcing it had knocked back Hughes’ parole application, SPA went on to state publicly how he had tried to work the system his way.
“The SPA received information that Hughes was a dual Australian-British citizen,” the Authority said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.
“His application to be transferred to a prison in the United Kingdom, under the International Transfer of Prisoners (ITP) scheme, had been approved by Australian and British authorities.
“Under this arrangement, he would remain in prison in the UK until granted parole and while on parole would be supervised until his sentence expires on 6 January, 2025.
“However, three months ago Hughes suddenly withdrew his ITP application and renounced his Australian citizenship and his visa was cancelled.
“The SPA was advised Hughes is no longer an Australian citizen.
“Therefore, 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.
Denying parole, the SPA decided ... Hughes presents as an ‘unacceptable risk to community safety’.
Robert Hughes has previously refused to admit he molested young girls, and claimed the victims were financially motivated to make up stories about his exposing himself or sexually touching them.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
But in 2014, a jury found Hughes guilty of two counts of sexual assault, seven counts of indecent assault and one count of committing an indecent act.
In his sentencing judgment, Judge Peter Zahra noted Hughes had not expressed remorse.
As Hughes sat in the dock, aloof, his head high as if in contempt, His Honour described the once popular sitcom actor as a sexual predator.
Judge Zahra said Hughes had systematically exploited young girls and relied on his position to ensure his victims’ compliance and silence.
“His conduct continued over 20 years … (even) after he was questioned by police in 1986, it continued,” Judge Zahra said.
Hughes’ crimes included exposing his genitals to girls around the pool, making them swim between his legs or forcing one to lie on his erect penis as he administered ear drops.
His victims included Sarah Monahan, who played his daughter in the Hey Dad! sitcom.
In prison, Hughes is believed to have refused to undergo any of Corrections NSW’s sex offender programs, like CUBIT, or acknowledge his offending behaviour or empathise with his victims.
In its statement, the SPA said Hughes was without “structured post release plans”, which commonly mean accommodation and behavioural programs to prevent reoffending.