Convicted child sex offender and actor granted parole, will be deported to UK

Hughes, 73, was imprisoned in 2014 after being found guilty of 10 sexual and indecent assault offences committed between 1984 and 1990.
Actor and convicted child sex offender Robert Hughes has been granted parole in Australia and will be deported to the UK (Alex Britton/PA)
PA Archive
Meg Hill2 June 2022

Actor and convicted child sex offender Robert Hughes has been granted parole in Australia and will be deported to the UK.

Hughes, 73, was imprisoned in 2014 after being found guilty of 10 sexual and indecent assault offences committed between 1984 and 1990.

He will be deported to the UK on his release from prison as he is a non-lawful citizen in Australia, having renounced his Australian citizenship in 2020.

Hughes starred on the Australian sitcom Hey Dad!, which aired from 1987 to 1994.

Hughes and wife had given undertakings that once back in the community Hughes would seek treatment with a clinical psychologist specialising in convicted sex offenders who deny their crimes, to assist with his reintegration and reduce his risk of reoffending

New South Wales state parole authority

His victims include a family friend, friends of his daughter and a child actor who worked with him.

The New South Wales state parole authority said it had accepted evidence Hughes had consistently been assessed as a below average risk of sexually reoffending.

It said that, although Hughes denies the offences, the assessment prevents him from accessing sex offender treatment programmes while he remains in custody.

“Hughes and wife had given undertakings that once back in the community Hughes would seek treatment with a clinical psychologist specialising in convicted sex offenders who deny their crimes, to assist with his reintegration and reduce his risk of reoffending,” it added.

The parole authority chairperson, David Frearson SC, said the authority acknowledged the “profound and deleterious effects on the victims… continue to this day and will probably be lifelong consequences”.

“It must be particularly galling for the victims to observe the offender’s continued and obstinate denials in the face of compelling and overwhelming evidence from multiple witnesses,” he added.

He will be released no later than June 14.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in