James Hughes jailed in Bathurst for stealing whisky, sexual touching

James Patrick Hughes was sentenced in Bathurst Local Court on September 28, 2023 to 15 months behind bars.

The Cathedral Street, Woolloomooloo resident had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of larceny and one count of sexually touching another person.

Court documents state Hughes was at the East Sydney Hotel about 7.15pm on July 23, 2023 where the victim was with two people.

As the victim held the door open for Hughes to exit while she said goodbye to friends, he squeezed the woman's buttocks twice.

The woman initially thought it was a relative but after asking witnesses, she discovered it was Hughes.

Shortly afterwards, Hughes - who was put on two community correction orders on July 18, 2023 - went back to the hotel and apologised to the victim for his behaviour.

He was then escorted from the hotel by staff and spoken to by police.

While speaking with officers, Hughes admitted to touching the woman's buttocks, which had been caught on CCTV footage.

He was arrested and taken to Kings Cross Police Station.

On a separate occasion while at Bathurst Liquorland just before 7pm on July 26, Hughes put a 750 millilitre bottle of Jameson whisky (worth $68) into his shopping bag.

Hughes went to the front counter with a one litre bottle of the same whisky and told the cashier he couldn't pay for it.

He then left without paying for the second hidden bottle.

The following day, Hughes went to the Bathurst Telstra store around 2pm where he stole a Maverick speaker/portable charging bank (worth $200).

Then on July 28, Hughes was in the Chase shopping centre on William Street in Bathurst about 6pm where he took a 750ml bottle of black label Johnnie Walker from Liquorland.

A witness followed Hughes for a short distance before they explained to nearby police what had happened.

The court heard officers approached Hughes, who lifted the bottle from his pocket and said "yeah, sorry mate, I took it".

Hughes said he didn't have any money and wanted the whiskey.

He was arrested and taken to Bathurst Police Station.

Legal Aid solicitor Keith Kuan told the court his client was having "manic episodes" at the time of all offences.

"Mr Hughes says at the time he was homeless and had been staying on the streets," Mr Kuan said.

"His backpack that had his medication in it was thrown out, so he was unmedicated and had manic episodes."

Hughes, who the court heard "ironically" was once a barrister's clerk, had an "extensive" criminal history in various states and territories.

Magistrate Elizabeth Ellis used a sentence assessment report to guide her judgement in classifying Hughes as a "high risk reoffender".

"There are no conditions that could keep the community safe from Mr Hughes outside of a full custodial sentence," Ms Ellis said.

Hughes was given a non-parole period of nine months.

He will be eligible for release on April 28, 2024.

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