Robert Hughes granted parole, to be deported to UK

Former Hey Dad! actor Robert Hughes has been granted parole and will be deported to the United Kingdom.

In 2014 Hughes was found guilty of 10 child sexual assault offences committed in the 1980s and given a minimum sentence of six years. He has been eligible for parole since April 2020 but has twice been knocked back.

The NSW State Parole Authority today granted his application after Hughes had been assessed as at a medium to low risk of reoffending.

In granting Hughes parole, the State Parole Authority considered that the offences were historical and “took place in particular settings in which the offender abused his power and his position of trust. He no longer enjoys such power or trust, as a direct consequence of the convictions and the consequent widespread adverse publicity.

“The key reasons for release were said to be his below average risk of committing sex offences, his ineligibility for sex offender programs together with his family support and accommodation in the UK,” the State Parole Authority’s determination by chairperson David Frearson SC said.

Hughes is understood to be transferred from Long Bay Correctional Centre to Villawood Detention Centre ahead of his deportation.

Recntly a dual citizen, he also renounced his Australian citizenship, which will see him return to the UK but subject to “notification orders” with monitoring by the British authorities under the Sexual Offences Act.

INTERPOL has confirmed this would be the case.

Former co-star Sarah Monahan, who travelled from the US, last week attended court and addressed media.

“On the one hand I’d prefer him to stay in jail where he’s not hurting kids, and on the other hand, it’s like let him go, let him be someone else’s problem and then I don’t have to deal with it anymore,” she said.

“He’s an old man and he’s frail, but they don’t change,” she said.

“He’s a denier, so he still thinks he hasn’t done anything wrong. So he’ll keep doing wrong things.”

Source: ABC, Sydney Morning Herald