June 2022 Paedophile pensioner took photos of child during sexual abuse A perverted pensioner subjected a young girl to ‘appalling’ sexual abuse and too depraved photos as he did so. Raymond Hughes was handed a sentence of more than a decade behind bars for his shocking behaviour. The 74-year-old implored his victim not to tell anyone about the abuse as ‘bad guys would hurt him’, and he told police he hoped she would simply forget about what happened. Hughes was charged with four counts of sexual assault by penetration of a child under 13 and one of taking indecent images of a child. He was also convicted of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and causing a child to watch sexual activity, and he appeared to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday. Louise McCloskey, prosecuting, explained how the victim revealed to her family in January that she had been sexually abused. She told her ‘shocked and horrified’ family that she had wanted to speak out for a long time but was worried about what would happen next. Police were informed and she was interviewed, explaining to officers that the defendant would make her sit on his knee while he showed her online pornography. As she was forced to watch, he would perform sex acts on her, including penetrative activity which she said ‘hurt’. He would also take photos of himself abusing her while she was naked and call her ‘beautiful’, telling her that she would be ‘attractive when she grew up’. Police found 20 indecent images of her in his possession, two of which were categorised as category A – the worst grading – while eight were category B and 10 category C. The victim also told officers that he would make her hold his penis while he urinated and performed sex acts on himself, as well as how he told her not to tell anyone about the abuse as ‘bad guys would hurt him’. Hughes was arrested by police and interviewed, where he made ‘full and frank’ admissions to the offences. He said that he got aroused when she sat on his knee and when he touched her in a sexual way, while accepting that he performed penetrative activity with her, but never with his penis. Hughes, of Thurston Close in Hood Manor, was sentenced to 11 years and four months of prison. Due to the nature of the offences, he is classed as an ‘offender of particular concern’ and was therefore handed a determinate sentence. This means he will have to serve two thirds of the jail term in custody before the case goes before the parole board to determine if he can be released, and if so, he must spend an extra year on extended license. He must also sign the sex offender register, comply with the terms of a sexual harm prevention order and abide by a restraining order not to contact or approach his victim – all for life.