MovieChat Forums > Hey Dad..! (1987) Discussion > Why the HELL didn't they stop him

Why the HELL didn't they stop him

posted 14 years ago by kateb23au
14 replies | jump to latest

If so many people knew about the abuse by Robert Hughes, as he has now been named as the abuser , why the hell didn't they do anything ? Was having a hit show more bloody important than a child's safety !!!

[–] nicpoo 14 years ago

why didn't her parents do anything?

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[–] jkay01 14 years ago

They all had something to lose.
The show. It went for 14 seasons!
Unfortunately this would have been a huge factor for everyone involved.

Someone should have stopped him though, there had to have been a cover up.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] kateb23au 14 years ago

I heard that her father had died and she was the main bread winner of the family , that's a lot of responsibility for a little girl. And I don't think her mother knew about the abuse because she didn't tell her .

[–] sarah-m 14 years ago

Well, according to the latest reports from Australia, not many people would have stopped him...
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=7954155
Just one third of Australians would call police if a child told them they were being sexually abused, an alarming new study has found.

But most of the 22,000 people surveyed by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) believed child abuse was a serious issue.

The results, released on Wednesday, showed that 48 per cent of people would not take action in clear-cut examples of child abuse for fear they might be wrong, while 42 per cent said they did not think it was their business.

Other excuses included not knowing what to do and not wanting to admit such things happen.

Everyone is pointing the finger at Simone and Ben, but this just shows that a full two thirds of people wouldn't have done anything themselves....

Hopefully, things will change.

[–] eyebrowmorroco 14 years ago

Was having a hit show more bloody important than a child's safety !!!

It appears that way.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Allyson55 10 years ago

Simone explained that she complained to the highest authority, Gary Reilly, and he told her he'd deal with it. According to Ben, when he complained to Gary Reilly, he was verbally abused and told not to say anything to anyone and to mind his own business.
A hit TV show is apparently more important than the care and welfare of children and as an Aussie who loved this show and the characters I am appalled by the behaviour of Robert Hughes (he's now been convicted and is awaiting sentencing) and the behaviour of Gary Reilly. Both the perpetrator and his enabler should hang their heads in shame.

[–] RoddmannW 14 years ago

And he lives in Singapore now...

Terrorism is the war of the poor, war the terrorism of the rich - Peter Ustinov

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[–] willjohn 8 years ago

Sarah was and is a tiny person, only about 5 feet tall. Hughes was 6 feet tall and imposing looking. He frightened her.

Her co-star Ben Oxenbould told the producer what Sarah claimed and was told to shut up and mind his own business.

I remember that Sarah went missing from home a few times when the show was on and everybody claimed not to know why. Now we know.

[–] goatman86 8 years ago

Many organisations in the past and still to this day have horrific cultures of cover ups or dismissal of victims.

From what I have noticed people get power and become corrupt and also the corrupt get power, with power people get things they want, they get the money, they get the drugs and get the women. Eventually they develop tastes for something more risqué' or are pressured by the culture and this is where children end up exploited.

Sadly cultures of silence and cover up develop as those in lesser positions know either directly or suspect something is up but will deny or deflect suspicion.

Thankfully there seems to be a culture of change, which I think the internet and advanced communication has helped uncover and we are seeing things like here in Australia where a Royal Commission is uncovering so much vile institutionalised abuse throughout Australia, the Catholic Church has been blown open in this country as result.

Sadly the world is driven by greed and self interest and not justice so while many knew something was up their own sense of preservation stopped them from acting.