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Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes appeals conviction 'poisoned' by social media Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes appeals conviction 'poisoned' by social media
(35 minutes later)
The “vile” and “contemptuous” social media coverage of Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes’s case deliberately set out to “poison the well” against him, his barrister has told a court considering his appeal. Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes should never have faced trial when such a prejudicial and “malicious” social media campaign was being hurled at him, his appeal has heard.
“Hang the pedo” was just one of the phrases that barrister Phillip Boulten SC said got more than 220,000 “likes” when it was posted on social media in the lead up to the actor’s trial last year.
Related: Hey Dad! actor Robert Hughes guilty of sexually assaulting young girlsRelated: Hey Dad! actor Robert Hughes guilty of sexually assaulting young girls
Hughes, who was jailed for at least six years in 2014 for the sexual and indecent assault of four young girls, is appealing his conviction and sentence on a number of grounds. Indeed, Boulten told the court of criminal appeal on Monday that the social media coverage was so puerile and contemptuous, Hughes was unable to have a fair trial.
Hughes’ barrister Phillip Boulten SC told the court of criminal appeal on Monday that the trial miscarried in part due to publicity, adding that people on social media set out to “ridicule and undermine the appellant’s position before and during the trial”. “This was a case where there was poisonous vilification of the applicant not by mainstream media but by very effective social media that involved the most poisonous and vile publication that anyone could ever receive,” he said.
“We say this was not just a case where there was a lot of publicity about the court case. “(It was) designed to ridicule and undermine the appellant’s position before and during the trial,” he said.
“This was a case where there was poisonous vilification of the applicant not by mainstream media but by very effective social media that involved the most poisonous and vile publication that anyone could ever receive.” Included in the online onslaught against Hughes were comments by one of the complainants against him, Boulten said.
Boulten also pointed to a series of paid interviews that one of the complainants did, including with Network Nine’s program A Current Affair, and with the magazine, Woman’s Day. “This was not an ordinary media event ... (she) was an active part of it.
Hughes, who’s not eligible for parole until April 2020 when he will be 71, did not wish to appear in court for the hearing, Boulten said.
His partner, talent agent Robyn Gardiner, who supported him throughout the trial, was also not in court.
The hearing comes more than a year after judge Peter Zahra described the once popular sitcom actor as a sexual predator who systematically exploited young girls and then relied on his position to ensure his victims’ compliance and silence.
The actor was taken into custody in April last year after being found guilty of 10 charges relating to sexual and indecent acts perpetrated on four young girls in the 1980s and 1990s.
Related: Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes sentenced to at least six years in jailRelated: Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes sentenced to at least six years in jail
Zahra said he “took advantage of social and familial” relationships to carry out his “brazen” behaviour. “She ran a running commentary. We now know she did that using a pseudonym so she could not be identified.”
After befriending the parents of one teenager, then aged 14 or 15, the court heard how Hughes crept into her bedroom while he was at a dinner party at her home and sexually abused her. Boulten said the online publicity amounted to a malicious campaign to ensure Hughes did not get a fair trial.
Zahra said Hughes, who has always denied the assaults, had shown no remorse or insight into his offending. The trial Judge Peter Zahra underestimated the problem the coverage created and should have placed a permanent stay on the proceedings, he added.
Hughes was jailed for at least six years in 2014 over 10 charges relating to sexual and indecent acts perpetrated on four young girls in the 1980s and 1990s.
The 67-year-old is appealing his conviction and sentence on a number of grounds, including that the judge failed when he allowed all the counts against him to be heard in a single trial.
Hughes, who is currently not eligible for parole until April 2020, did not wish to appear in court for the hearing.
His partner, talent agent Robyn Gardiner, who supported him throughout the trial, was also not in court.
The appeal comes more than a year after Zahra described the once popular sitcom actor as a sexual predator who systematically exploited young girls and then relied on his position to ensure his victims’ compliance and silence.
The hearing continues.The hearing continues.