JAMES HUGHES UDDINGSTON PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER JAILED FOR FILMING GIRLS' PRIVATE PARTS IN UDDINGSTON

In December 2017, James Hughes, a former principal teacher based in Uddingston, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of serious misconduct involving the filming of young girls’ private parts at the primary school where he was employed.

Hughes, aged 54, used his personal devices, including a phone and an iPad, to secretly record pupils during out-of-class, one-on-one lessons at the unnamed primary school in Monklands. The disturbing acts took place between June and October of the previous year. During these sessions, Hughes instructed the young students to stand on chairs and lift their legs into the air, positioning himself under a desk to capture images and videos of them in compromising positions.

The criminal investigation was triggered when three teenage girls, who were at the school on work experience, discovered Hughes filming them. One of the girls managed to sneak into his office and checked his tablet device, where she found inappropriate images. She then reported her findings to the headteacher, which led to police involvement.

Subsequent police searches of Hughes’s residence in Uddingston and his school office uncovered a disturbing collection of at least 260 images and 79 recordings stored across two devices. These materials included photographs and videos of young girls, some as young as eight years old, in sexually explicit or voyeuristic poses.

Hughes was arrested and charged with two counts of voyeurism under the Sexual Offences Scotland Act. He pleaded guilty to these charges in September, acknowledging his misconduct. During the court proceedings, Hughes sat silently, with his head bowed, as he was led away in handcuffs. The courtroom was tense, and a woman in the public gallery shouted, “How do you sleep at night?” as he was escorted out.

In a sentencing hearing held in December, Sheriff Petra Collins described Hughes’s actions as involving a “significant degree of manipulation and planning,” emphasizing that his conduct was a gross abuse of trust, especially given his role as a primary school teacher. The sheriff stated that an alternative to imprisonment was not appropriate, citing the severity of the offences and the need to protect the community.

Hughes was sentenced to 18 months in prison and will be on the sex offenders register for ten years. The sheriff also highlighted the impact on the victims and their families, noting that they now have to cope with the emotional and psychological consequences of his actions.

Hughes’s guilty plea and cooperation were noted, but the court maintained that the gravity of the offences warranted a custodial sentence. The teacher, who had been suspended from his position since the allegations surfaced, is expected to face dismissal at a disciplinary hearing scheduled for the following week. The case underscores the importance of safeguarding children and the devastating effects when trust is betrayed by those in positions of authority.