RAY MCHUGH FROM TUAM SENTENCED FOR ORAL RAPE OF SCHOOLGIRL IN GALWAY

In a case that has shocked the community of Tuam and the wider Galway region, Ray McHugh, a 39-year-old man from Ballaghbawn, Belclare, was sentenced to a total of eight and a half years in prison for heinous crimes involving a young girl. The court heard that McHugh was convicted of multiple charges, including oral rape, sexual exploitation, and sexual assault, all committed against a girl who was only 13 years old at the time of the offenses.

The disturbing details of the case emerged during a trial held in December, where the jury found McHugh guilty of fifteen separate charges. These included four counts of oral rape, which took place on different dates between October and December 2015, as well as four counts of sexual assault and seven counts of sexual exploitation through the sending of explicit text messages. The crimes spanned from May 1, 2014, to February 27, 2015.

The case came to light when the girl’s mother discovered sexually explicit messages on her daughter’s phone. The girl’s device had frozen, prompting her mother to offer to check it. Upon inspection, she found troubling texts in which McHugh had been persistently urging the girl to perform oral sex on him. Recognizing the severity of the situation, she immediately contacted the Gardaí, the Irish police force.

Further investigation revealed that McHugh had attempted to delete these incriminating messages from both his own phone and the girl’s device. However, digital forensic experts were able to recover the deleted texts using specialized software, providing crucial evidence for the case.

Throughout the trial, McHugh denied twenty charges related to the sexual offenses. He claimed that the girl was lying and attempted to justify his actions by stating that he suffered from erectile dysfunction at the time of the alleged abuse. Medical records confirmed that McHugh, who was recently married at the time, did indeed have the condition but was prescribed medication to manage it.

The court heard that McHugh’s misconduct involved grooming the young girl over a period of seven to eight months. His actions escalated from sending inappropriate messages to physically abusing her, including groping and kissing her on the lips when they were alone. The abuse intensified to sexual assault and oral rape, beginning during the Halloween school holidays in 2014.

The victim, now 17, was present in court with her mother during the sentencing. In her victim impact statement, she described her feelings of fear and betrayal. She recounted how McHugh had threatened her not to tell anyone about the abuse, which made her feel isolated and confused. She expressed her anger and sadness, stating that she hated how sexual assault is often trivialized or joked about by others. The girl also shared that the experience has profoundly affected her trust in men, leading her to only seek medical care from female professionals now.

The court also heard that McHugh’s family, including his wife and infant son, were victims of his crimes, highlighting the far-reaching impact of his actions. The judge, Rory McCabe, emphasized the element of grooming involved in the case and noted that McHugh had ample opportunity to cease his misconduct but chose not to. As a result, he was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison, with the final 18 months suspended. McHugh was also placed on the sex offender’s register and spent Christmas in custody awaiting sentencing.

When the sentence was handed down, McHugh was seen hanging his head and crying, a reflection of the gravity of his crimes and the court’s judgment.