Shrewsbury rapist, 82, faces jail after being found guilty of molestation in the 1980s

John Hughes is facing prison time after a jury found him guilty of raping a girl under 16 five times. Shrewsbury Crown Court.

The charges relate to historic sexual abuse that occurred at an address. Shrewsbury Between January 1981 and December 1984.

The jury, which deliberated for nearly three hours, found Hughes not guilty of two more counts of rape.

Defense lawyer Kevin Jones said he accepted the “inevitability” of Hughes’ sentence and asked Judge Anthony Lowe to postpone the sentence until a later date because there were “issues of practicality” for Hughes’ health.

He said Hughes, of Copthorne Road, Shrewsbury, had been unable to go up and down stairs for two to three years, so was unable to get across the dock to the cells at Shrewsbury Crown Court.

Judge Lowe said: “I will grant him bail to put his affairs in order. Despite the offences, I think this is the most appropriate thing to do with a defendant of his age.”

The judge adjourned sentencing until November 22, but there may be a transfer of sentence to Birmingham Crown Court so that a lift can be used for Hughes to get to and from the dock.

“The sentence is inevitable,” Judge Lowe told Hughes, referring to the prison sentence he was expected to serve.

“You will be told whether you should come here or go to Birmingham.”

After Hughes left the courtroom, Judge Lowe told the jury: “I don’t think any case is easy for the jury, but some cases are harder.

“No matter how much we tell you to put your feelings aside, the consequences of your decision will be severe.

“You leave with my most sincere thanks.”