Former boss of Storey Arms admits new abuse

THE former boss of the Storey Arms outdoor activity centre has admitted abusing another boy who came forward during his trial for sexual offences against three victims.

Paedophile Robert Pugh, 76, was jailed for 30 months at the beginning of this year after being found guilty of 10 counts of indecent assault at trial.

Jurors were told that Pugh, of Plasturton Avenue, Cardiff, ran the Storey Arms in Brecon, where he committed offences against young boys in the 1980s and the 1990s.

The defendant, who met his victims while they were at school and were attending courses at the centre, denied abusing the boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

But yesterday, Cardiff Crown Court heard Pugh had pleaded guilty to another account of indecent assault in respect of a victim who came forward to the police during the defendant’s trial in 2019.

Prosecutor Roger Griffiths said the boy, who is Pugh’s fourth victim, met the defendant in the late 1980s when he attended the Storey Arms on a school trip. On the first occasion, the victim said the group were caving when Pugh got into difficulty with rising water levels. He said he and a PE teacher assisted Pugh, who put his arm around the boy and said he was grateful.

Following this incident, the victim was invited back to the Storey Arms on courses and went on trips to the Peak District and Scotland as well as helping out during the school holidays.

On some occasions, the boy would spend the night at the Storey Arms and would visit the pub with Pugh, who encouraged him to drink alcohol and would give him whiskey when they got back to the centre.

On the day before the offence, the victim said he had to sleep on the floor of Pugh’s lounge due to someone else using his accommodation and that night the defendant again gave the boy whiskey to drink.

Mr Griffiths said: “He recalls Mr Pugh touching and stroking his leg and putting him in a headlock. He spilt his drink and felt uncomfortable. He felt vulnerable, he didn’t know if it was horseplay or whether it was drink causing what was happening.

“That night he slept against the door to prevent Mr Pugh from coming hear him, but the defendant asked him if he was asleep so he pretended to be asleep.”

The next day, the victim went downstairs and Pugh was in his office. He went to sit down on a chair but Pugh patted the corner of his desk so the boy sat there.

Mr Griffiths added: “He stood up and told the boy they were special friends and reached inside his tracksuit bottoms and boxer shorts and grabbed him. He pushed Mr Pugh away and walked off.”

Following the incident, Pugh insisted on driving the boy back to his home, gave him a rucksack as a present and insisted on meeting the boy’s parents when they got to his home.

After attending a trip on the Isle of Arran, the boy went to the Storey Arms less and eventually stopped going.

The court heard he felt unable to tell anyone about what Pugh had done to him and kept his secret for 30 years until he saw the defendant was on trial for similar offences. He told his wife and she encouraged him to call the police.

In a victim personal statement read out to the court, the victim said the assault led him to “dark moments” and had “changed his life greatly”.

Pugh pleaded guilty to indecent assault at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on July 31.

Sentencing, Judge Michael Fitton QC told Pugh, who appeared via video link from HMP Parc, that he would be receiving more time prison in addition to his current sentence.

Pugh was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, to be served in addition to his current sentence.