Murder of Lucy McHugh. Safeguarding of vulnerable young women.

[placemats]

This is a shocking case. And I'm linking the Guardian deliberately here because of the picture of Lucy which, astonishingly was issued by the police.

Why was this seriously disturbed man allowed to be released?

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/19/murderer-of-lucy-mchugh-13-jailed-for-minimum-of-33-years

This case is quite local to me. Am I interpreting you correctly OP, in your distaste of the over-sexualised photo of the THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD CHILD VICTIM published by the police? (She was 12 when he first raped her).

If so, I share your view.

The whole case is dreadful. I think the sentence given to the rapist and murderer is correct (well, I would like him to stay in prison for life but the chances of him surviving inside for 33 years are slim ...) I hope to God he doesn't get early release.

And social services twice said there wasn’t an issue with him living with this young girl. How?! I’m so disturbed by this case.

The Guardian omits any mention of her useless and obstructive mother. This piece of scum killed her. Her mother is also culpable. As is often in these cases the absent father is now heartbroken , presumably, having taken little interest before.

Lucy was failed by everyone and she paid the ultimate price

You are correct MrsSpenser

Parents can fail children in many ways Lass. This person or 'scum' as you wish to describe him, was also failed by the legal, prison and probation system.

The parents obviously were negligent but Lucy did have family support, hence her ability to out her murderer as a paedophile, which is what ultimately led to her brutal murder.

Wasn't she just?

The Sun has a more complete picture.

www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjK2du5-8DjAhVGhRoKHU1hDioQzPwBegQIARAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fnews%2F9534887%2Fstephen-nicholson-dad-slam-killer-lucy-mchugh-guilty-death-rape%2F&psig=AOvVaw199aiCnw14gVhp-ZhwJIs2&ust=1563625073308509

And as a side how on earth did this piece of excrement come to be a "care worker"?

And don't get me on to the ridiculousness of calling her vile mother's 22 year old boyfriend her "step-dad"

The parents obviously were negligent but Lucy did have family support, hence her ability to out her murderer as a paedophile, which is what ultimately led to her brutal murder*
Family support? Are you joking? Her mother was obstructive and abusive when social services tried to help and colluded in the abuse by saying her daughter made things up .

Her mother also presumably lied about Lucy never being alone with him- the alternative being presumably that her mother was in the house when her daughter was being raped.

Her grandmother. Which is part of her family.

For a 'lawyer' you presume way too much Lass.

I don't think anything is obvious about this very sad case, tbh. That's why a Serious Case Review is necessary.

We don't know why the mother didn't believe her daughter, or why her parents had formed the opinion that she was in safe company with her eventual murderer.

We don't know why she kept moving school, or why SS didn't act on the concerns of teachers.

We don't know why Lucy was going to report the fact that she was pregnant, when she wasn't actually pregnant. It was that, sadly, that got her killed. Tragic, given that it wasn't actually true, but perhaps she would have been killed anyway at some point.

I'm astonished to read how he held people hostage at knifepoint at the age of 14 and then he went in to get a job as a care worker? How was this not picked up? He was high at the time, there are failings there too surely?

Lucy was very very badly let down by her family and other. May he rot.

WHY THE FUCK would you allow a stranger straight out of prison to lodge in your home with your pre-teen daughter?

Her mother put her in such a vulnerable position and then didn't listen when Lucy told her what was going on. Teachers reported concerns, social care investigated, but her mother insisted there was no danger from this man.

Lucy's heartbroken father apparently had no contact with Lucy for four years prior to her death.

This is such an upsetting case it's stayed with me.

I just don't understand how her mother dismissed everything as fantasy. That poor girl was failed by everyone and was so vulnerable.

I agree with Lass. The messages between the 'stepdad' and mother about how he wanted to punch Lucy and her telling him it's not a good idea because he'll get in trouble rather than because she's her daughter and how dare he. Just awful, this poor girl.

Her grandmother. Which is part of her family

One part and with no actual safeguarding responsibilities.

*We don't know why the mother didn't believe her daughter or why her parents had formed the opinion that she was in safe company with her eventual murderer.

Mother probably too busy with her own 22 year old boy friend, who was the person who introduced the murderer into her home.

During the trial, it was heard Miss White and her partner Richard Elmes, 22, told teachers and social services Lucy had a "teenage crush"

Ms White told her that Lucy was not left alone with Nicholson and that Lucy had a habit of making up stories

What sort of person when confronted by social services takes the word of a convicted violent offender over their 12 year old daughter? Or isn't concerned that their 12 year old daughter has a crush on a convicted violent offender?

The Mirror has more details about the "family support " this poor girl had.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/lucy-mchugh-murder-probe-launched-18336622

Where the hell is he in that photo taken against the door, is it a hospital or psychiatric setting?

He appears to have a semi hard-on who on earth thought it appropriate to publish that?

I am local to this too and today I found the reporting on the local radio news to be inappropriate too. They reported that Lucy was "in a relationship with" her murderer. Not that she was being sexually abused, but that she was in a relationship. A 13 year old in a relationship with a 25 year old.

The reporting is all wrong

@bridalwave The caption underneath the photo says it was taken in police custody. And I see exactly what you're saying.

She described herself as being in a relationship. The fact that such a relationship is inherently abusive is just one factor. To me, reading that she was 'in a relationship' with him implies a sustained abuse, rather than 'was abused', which implies one or more acts of abuse.

I was a detective on the child sexual exploitation team prior to recently retiring. It is absolutely incorrect to describe the victim as being in a relationship with the offender. She was clearly being groomed and sexually exploited. Sadly it was not uncommon for mothers to disbelieve their children when they disclose abuse from the mother’s partner. There’s a whole generation of women putting their own needs before those of their children.

Awful awful story.
And yes MaisieDaisy1 - she was groomed, sexually exploited and neglected by those adults who had responsibility for her. There should be no excuses made for them.

“It seems Lucy developed a crush on Nicholson. Instead of rebuffing her, he encouraged her to continue her interest in him.

Well she's dead. So we don't have her version of events.

And yes the mothers, the mothers who disbelieve their daughters. I know in part they do it because they don't want to be homeless and destitute. But still. A part of it comes from misogyny and hatred of little girls.

That poor poor child.

Her parents let her down terribly - why on earth was her father completely absent, to the degree that her mother banned him and his family from attending the funeral? Why the actual fuck did her mother expose her to such an obviously damaging home life? And then, when the poor kid told of the abuse, her mother's response was to accuse her of being a liar and a fantasist... Shocking.

Obviously the blame for her murder lies with the piece of shit who killed her, but the situation that led up to this was allowed to develop by her parents. Pretty shitty of social services, taking no further action either though I suppose the SCR will detail their reasoning?

So awful. She was let down by so many.