Lucy McHugh: Murdered schoolgirl's dad condemns 'evil' killer's cruelty against 'defenceless little girl'

THE father of murdered schoolgirl Lucy McHugh has released an emotional statement condemning her killer's ‘cruelty and violence against our defenceless little girl’.
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Andy McHugh said that Stephen Nicholson's ‘evil desire for sexual gratification’ led to the ‘brutal destruction’ of his daughter.

He said: ‘My family are extremely grateful to the police and to the CPS, without their hard work we would never have got justice for Lucy.

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‘This has been and still is one of the hardest times of our lives. We have been fortunate to have a fantastic support network who have supported us through this time.

Lucy McHugh. Picture: Hampshire Constabulary/PA WireLucy McHugh. Picture: Hampshire Constabulary/PA Wire
Lucy McHugh. Picture: Hampshire Constabulary/PA Wire
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‘My family are extremely grateful that the jury has come back and found Nicholson guilty, but no sentence will be long enough for him.

‘He stole Lucy's life away from her and from us. She will never go to prom, she will never get married, she will never have children, she will never grow old, we will never be reunited. She had her whole life ahead of her.

‘Without Nicholson's evil desire for sexual gratification and his brutal destruction of her life, we would never have had to go through this and Lucy would still be alive.

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‘The emptiness that has been left in our lives. That emptiness has left a void that will never be filled.

‘We still do not know how to come to terms with someone committing such cruelty and violence against our defenceless little girl.

‘We still continue to seek ways to process our immense pain and loss. The pain still hurts as much as it did when I found out. We are learning new ways to cope with the pain.

‘I still find it very hard coming to terms to with the fact my daughter has been laid to rest before me, it should be the other way around, my children should be laying me to rest.’