HUGH CHRISTIE SENTENCED TO 18 MONTHS IN JAIL FOR ABUSE IN CHELMSFORD

In July 2000, Hugh Christie, a 55-year-old former social worker, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for abusing girls under his care. Christie, who once worked at Hollycroft Children’s Home near Chelmsford, was convicted of indecent assault and child cruelty in an earlier trial and sentenced accordingly. Although he was acquitted of 12 other charges—including three counts of rape, seven indecent assaults, one of child cruelty, and one of making threats to kill—he received his prison term based on the convictions.

Judge Derek Inman addressed the court, stating: “These girls were very vulnerable and all had problems. Hollycroft should have been a safe haven from their troubled lives where they could have a peaceful period, take stock of things and properly prepare for the future. You had a big responsibility to achieve that – a position of trust and responsibility. The public is entitled to expect such homes to be safe from the sort of abuse the girls sent there have frequently been subjected to earlier in their lives.”

The court heard that Christie was the third-in-command at Hollycroft from 1978 to 1981, a facility now closed. Four former residents testified they had been abused by him. However, a jury acquitted Christie after he claimed these allegations were fabricated. Christie, who has already served five months in prison, is scheduled for release in four months.

Christopher Sallon QC, representing Christie, announced that an appeal would be filed against the earlier convictions due to new evidence surfacing.

Christie, of Orchard Road, Chessington, Surrey, had worked as a probation officer starting in 1992 but was dismissed in 1998 when the allegations first emerged.