Chances missed to protect 13-year-old murdered by family’s paedophile lodger
POLICE and social services missed numerous opportunities to protect Lucy Mchugh, the schoolgirl who was murdered by a predatory paedophile lodging with her family, a report said.
Stephen Nicholson, 25, was jailed for life with a minimum 33-year term at Winchester Crown Court last July for the murder and rape of the 13-year-old.
A Southampton Safeguarding Children Partnership report highlighted warnings from her school that she was being exploited by an older boyfriend which were not followed up properly.
Police were also criticised for failing to investigate Nicholson’s background after arresting him for a string of crimes.
Nicholson, a care worker, began sexually abusing the teenager after moving into the family home as a lodger.
But when Lucy’s school raised concerns, social workers concluded they were nothing to worry about after accepting assurances from Stacey White, her mother, the report said. In July 2018, after Lucy threatened to reveal their sexual relationship, Nicholson lured her to woodland in Southampton where he stabbed her 27 times.
Moira Murray, the lead reviewer, said concerns from Lucy’s school “did not progress further than the ‘front door’ to the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub”. As a result there was no sharing of information between the police, the school and children’s social care.
She said this was a “missed opportunity” for officials to investigate the risk that Nicholson posed.
Social workers were criticised for allowing the teenager’s mother to “influence professional judgment” by being “defensive, controlling, aggressive and intimidating”.
The report also highlighted a failure by police to take into account Nicholson’s previous convictions, including theft, battery, criminal damage, domestic violence and possession of cannabis.
It subsequently emerged that Nicholson, who was also a tattoo artist, had had sex with a 14-year-old girl in return for giving her a cheaper tattoo in 2012.
Rob Henderson, Southampton City Council’s executive director for wellbeing (children and learning), apologised for the failings, adding: “We remain deeply saddened by this tragic case, and on behalf of the council I would like to apologise to the victim’s family, friends, and all who knew her, for the council’s shortcomings identified in the report.”
Supt Kelly Whiting said Hampshire Police had been “working closely with our partners to identify improvements” following Lucy’s death and had set up a “multi-agency police protection safeguarding notification scrutiny panel”.