BRUTAL CHILD SEX OFFENSES INVOLVING CLAIRE SEMMENS AND AARON HUGHES IN CARDIFF

A babysitter, Claire Semmens, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for providing a three-year-old boy to a known paedophile, Aaron Hughes, who then drugged and raped the sleeping child. Hughes, 32, was handed a life sentence for the sex assaults, which he recorded on his mobile phone so he could watch the videos repeatedly on his computer. The police discovered Hughes’s illegal activities after a routine check on his computer revealed he had breached a court order by downloading child pornography.

Investigators found that Hughes had filmed himself raping the sedated boy twice, with both assaults taking place at Semmens’s home while she was babysitting children. The court was told both rapes involved the same child but occurred at different times. Evidence showed discrepancies in the videos; for instance, the boy was wearing different pajamas, and Hughes had different jewellery in each recording. Prosecutor Laurence Jones explained, "The rapes were carried out at separate times — but both were on the same boy and they happened in Semmens’ bedroom." He further stated, "Semmens not only supplied the boy but provided a room which enabled Hughes to commit the act and film it in a relatively safe haven."

Semmens, 28, admitted to knowing Hughes was a convicted sex offender banned from contact with children. Despite this, she sought to satisfy Hughes’s perversions, which involved young boys. The court received evidence that Semmens was sexually attracted to Hughes’s gay partner, and the two became close friends. Hughes previously had a conviction for raping a six-year-old boy, and Semmens hoped that supplying children to Hughes might pave the way for a relationship with his lover. Court records indicated, "Aaron Hughes had to be kept happy so she would supply him with a young boy." As a babysitter, Semmens regularly cared for boys aged three to six.

Hughes and his partner moved into a flat in Roath, Cardiff, adjacent to the home where Semmens was babysitting. The police uncovered Hughes’s predatory behavior when they raided his residence and found he was abusing one of the young boys staying nearby—an act conducted with Semmens’s consent. When questioned, Hughes admitted to police that he had sedated the three-year-old boy before raping him, with video footage showing the child's eyes closed. He claimed the assaults occurred on the same night, despite differences in the boys’ pajamas and Hughes’s jewellery.

Further disturbing evidence revealed that Semmens was also involved in child pornography; images were discovered on her laptop. Police also found pictures depicting the bare bottoms of two other boys she babysat. Fearing arrest, Hughes and Semmens attempted to escape by pawning their jewelry and leaving via train from Gatwick Airport, abandoning their pet hamsters to die of starvation.

During police interviews, Hughes claimed to suffer from multiple personality disorder and insisted he was not responsible for the rapes. The duo appeared in Cardiff Crown Court, expressions stoic, with a prison officer sitting between them. Semmens faced charges of inciting or causing sexual activity with a child and possessing indecent images; she was sentenced to 16 years and prohibited from working with children for life, also required to register as a sex offender indefinitely. Hughes pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, possessing indecent images, and breaching his sex offender prevention order. He was sentenced to life, with the possibility of parole no sooner than after 12 years, and will be under lifelong license, barred from working with children, and must register as a sex offender for life.

Judge Phillip Richards addressed the defendants, stating, "These were genuinely horrendous offences which include the rape of a young child who was three years old. It almost defies belief that any human being would do such a thing to such an innocent young child." He also condemned Semmens’s role: "You, Semmens, made that child available not once but twice to your paedophile friend and permitted him to carry out his vile activities in your bedroom. You knew he was a child abuser, and the level of breach of trust is probably worse than Hughes’s." In his concluding remarks, the judge emphasized the long imprisonment ahead for both.