A 25-year-old care worker has been sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a 13-year-old schoolgirl by the Winchester Crown Court.
Stephen Nicholson had met Lucy McHugh near the Southampton Outdoor Sports Center on 25th July last year, before stabbing her 27 times around her torso.
Nicholson had repeatedly raped McHugh back in 2017 when she was just 12-years-old and committed the murder to prevent her from seeking help about his abuse.
The accused made an attempt to cover his tracks by making the wound seem self-inflicted and even changed his clothing attire before entering a department store equipped with a CCTV camera.
But, local police found DNA as evidence on the clothing found in woods near the scene of the crime.
Nicholson had been previously imprisoned for 14 months back in August last year for refusing to give police officials the password of the Facebook account he used to converse with McHugh.
Speaking on the case, Hampshire Police’s Paul Barton said, ‘I would describe Nicholson as cold and calculated, I would describe him as a paedophile and I think he is someone who only thinks about himself and has taken full advantage of this family that have looked after him, provided a roof over his head yet with his sexual appetite,’ and continued, ‘He targeted Lucy, taken advantage of her and when she wanted a relationship with him, he has taken the decision to silence her once and for all by brutally killing her.’
In addition to his murder of McHugh, Nicholson will also serve a nine-month prison sentence for conducting a sexual activity with a 14-year-old in 2012.
Put together, his sentences will carry a minimum imprisonment period of 33 years without the possibility of parole.