MAXIMUM security prison Goulburn Main has built a protective wall to prevent disgraced TV star and convicted paedophile Robert Hughes from being pelted with urine and faeces by fellow inmates.
Jail authorities have erected the special thick-wire screen, dubbed the “Hey Dad wall†by inmates, to stop them from throwing excreta-filled milk cartons at the disgraced television celebrity.
NSW Corrective Services brought in a “builder to alter the jail†with a special barrier after Hughes was bombarded with inmates’ urine and faeces, News Corp’s James Phelps has revealed in a new book.
Hughes, 67, is the former star of television sitcom Hey Dad, who was convicted of the child sexual assault of four young women.
Following his May 2014 conviction, Hughes was imprisoned in Goulburn Correctional Centre where fellow inmates “welcomed†the new prisoner by dousing him with human waste.
Phelps reveals in his new book Australia’s Toughest Prisons — Inmates, that the wall was built after the fallen TV star’s lawyer complained about the treatment.
“It went up because ... his lawyer kicked up a big stink and went hard at everybody. He argued for a reduced sentence because of the treatment [Hughes] received,†a prison officer told Phelps.
The unnamed Goulburn jail guard said that a “special screening of thick, tight wire†has been built since the TV star was “covered head to toe in human waste†while being transferred between yards with other child sex offenders.
Sentenced to a maximum of more than 10 years prison for two counts of sexual assault, seven counts of indecent assault and one count of committing an indecent act, Hughes was placed in a high security “yellow†protection yard with other paedophiles.
What occurred was revealed in James Phelps’ previous book, Australia’s Most Murderous Prison.
“He was never going to be put in ... with general population inmates because they would have killed them,†the Goulburn guard said.
But during the normal course of transfer from an area, called “the Cookhouseâ€, to an activities yard, Hughes and other protection inmates had to walk through a 40m fenced-off corridor.
Inmates in yards bordering an area called The Circle in Goulburn Main prison lined up against their fences as Hughes crossed the open area and they threw the filled milk cartons at him.
“When Robert Hughes came out of that wing, I would estimate 50 to 70 inmates all ran to the yard,†the officer said.
“We thought, oh s*** it’s on here. Before we knew it he had s*** and p*** thrown on him from the time he walked into the yard to the time he walked out of the back of the yard.
“What they do is s*** and p*** in the little milk containers they’re issued, and they put their arms through the bars and fling it — you would really be surprised how far.
“Hughes was attacked from both sides.â€
Following the assault, the guard told Phelps that, covered in human waste, “Hughes sat on top of a small grassy hill in the activities yard, and he criedâ€.
The officer said that Hughes would have been unable to clean himself up without a shower, and then was sent back to his cell and pelted again with urine and faeces on the return trip.
Another Goulburn officer reportedly heard Hughes’ subsequent phone call to his wife, the celebrity acting agent Robyn Gardiner.
“I can’t do it,†Hughes sobbed. “This place is horrible. I thought it would be okay, but I can’t stay here ... in Goulburn. This place is hell. You have to get me out.â€
The officer listening in on Hughes’ conversation said the former actor was “a big girl†who begged to be returned to the remand prison, Silverwater, in Sydney where he had been processed.
But despite his tearful pleas, Hughes remained in Goulburn and inmates continued to target him.
Hughes started wearing a thick ski jacket, even in summer, as fellow prisoners often just spat at him.
During one yard transfer, one inmate yelled out “I’m a celebrity, get me out of hereâ€.
When Hughes’ lawyer Greg Walsh applied to the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal to have his sentence reduced, he cited the “inhumane†prison treatment of his client.
In September, 2015, Walsh told the court Hughes had also been targeted with boiling water
Hughes lost his appeal, but the wall went up.
One prison officer told Phelps the wall had reduced the effect of attacks on Hughes, but they still went on.
News.com.au has contacted Corrective Services NSW for a response.
Hughes has sought leave to appeal his child abuse conviction to the High Court of Australia.