STEPHEN HOUGH, EX-SOLDIER FROM FLINT, SENTENCED IN MOLD COURT FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES AND HISTORIC KILLING CASE

In July 2017, Stephen Hough, a former soldier from Flint, received additional prison time after admitting to a sexual assault that occurred last year. Hough was already serving a 12-year sentence for the rape and manslaughter of Janet Commins, a schoolgirl who went missing in 1976. The court, Mold Crown Court, sentenced him to an extra three years in prison on Monday afternoon after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a girl under 16.

Earlier that day, Hough was convicted at a trial and sentenced to 12 years for the 1976 murder. Janet Commins disappeared after leaving home to go swimming on January 7 of that year. Her body was discovered four days later by three children playing hide and seek in a thicket near a school field. She had been suffocated during a sexual assault. Noel Jones, 18 at the time, admitted to killing her and was jailed for 12 years, serving half of that sentence. Although he never challenged his conviction, Jones claimed he was made a scapegoat by police because of his Gypsy background and limited literacy.

Hough was questioned shortly after Janet's death but was cleared by police when he claimed he was stealing petrol on the night of the murder. He was fined for that offence. In 2016, police collected his DNA during an unrelated investigation, which was later matched to samples from Janet’s body. The jury was told it was a billion times more likely that the DNA belonged to Hough than anyone else.

Hough, aged 58 at the time, was scheduled to stand trial in Newport in September for the rape and sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl last year, charges that were not disclosed during the Janet Commins trial. On Monday, Hough pleaded not guilty to the rape charge but admitted to the serious sexual assault, which the prosecution accepted. Judge Mr Justice Lewis sentenced him to an additional three years, which will run consecutively to his previous 12-year sentence, making a total of 15 years. The judge remarked on the unusual circumstances of the plea, stating, “The circumstances in which you come to plead guilty are unusual.” He added, “You were a 57-year-old man when you deliberately preyed on a young 15-year-old.”

Hough's name will also be added to the sex offender register. Court proceedings revealed that at the time of the 2016 assault, Hough was working as a long-distance lorry driver and was separated from his second wife. Defence barrister Patrick Harrington QC acknowledged Hough's guilty plea, highlighting his hardworking nature and suggesting he might face homelessness upon release. An impact statement from the victim conveyed ongoing trauma, stating, “There hasn’t been a day where I haven’t been reminded of what happened. It makes me feel sick and upset. It’s something I’ll have to deal with for the rest of my life and has impacted me and my family. It’s closed me off from the rest of society.”

The court also learned that Hough had a violent past, including being court-martialled in 1988 for grievous bodily harm with intent while serving as a soldier in Germany. During that incident, he assaulted a hotel receptionist and was caught while strangling her; he was subsequently jailed for five years before being reduced through the ranks and discharged.