FORMER SELLAFIELD WORKER CRAIG HUGHES SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON IN CUMBRIA FOR SEXUAL OFFENSES INVOLVING GIRLS

In May 2010, Craig Hughes, a 26-year-old former employee at Sellafield, was sentenced to five years in prison for sexual misconduct involving two 15-year-old girls. Hughes, of Coniston Avenue, Flimby, was also ordered to register as a sex offender for an indefinite period and is now banned from having unsupervised contact with anyone under 16.

Hughes admitted to Carlisle Crown Court that he engaged in sexual activity with the two teenagers and possessed pornographic images of them, as well as pictures of other underage girls he had downloaded from the internet. His lawyer, Greg Hoare, described Hughes as an immature man who struggled to develop friendships and relationships with peers his own age.

Even after his arrest and being released on bail with the condition that he not associate with schoolgirls, Hughes was found in his car with three underage girls. The court heard that Hughes was initially questioned about his relationship with one girl, who had a sexual encounter with him after sending a text message. During the investigation, his sexual activity with the second girl was also uncovered, along with his collection of explicit images and videos on his mobile phone.

Most of the images depicted unknown girls in their early teens, including photographs of the two girls with whom he had sexual encounters. Mr. Hoare mentioned that it appeared these pictures were taken and sent to Hughes voluntarily by the girls themselves.

While acknowledging that Hughes was likely to be sent to prison, Mr. Hoare emphasized that his client’s mental health was relatively fragile and that a custodial sentence might not be beneficial for him. He told the judge, “Here is a young man who has very definitely learned his lesson and who knows he must not dabble in these things again and must not under any circumstances at all consort with young girls.”