Fort Bliss soldier pleaded guilty to multiple sex crimes years after he was first accused

EL PASO, Texas -- The Army Times reported that the case of a Fort Bliss soldier not prosecuted for an accusation of rape in the winter of 2017 will be reviewed by Army officials following the soldier's guilty plea to multiple sex crimes years later.

According to The Army Times, Staff Sgt. Randall S. Hughes plead guilty to the rape he was accused of in 2017 three years after the accusation. In the following months, he pleaded guilty to another rape, as well as the sexual abuse of his daughter in 2020.

Hughes' daughter accused him of raping her while she was drugged with a sleep medication in the Spring of 2020, according to court documents.

The Army Times reported that Hughes admitted "to two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault consummated by battery, one count of sexual abuse of a child and one count of assault consummated by a battery on a child."

In March, Hughes took a plea deal and was sentenced to 13 years in the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The Army Times said that victims pointed out that had Hughes been prosecuted in response to the 2017 accusation, he would not have been able to commit the sex crimes that occurred following the decision not to prosecute him.

Agents from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division found that Hughes has committed multiple crimes involving five victims over a decade, which The Army Times reported, saying that this secured the plea deal.

One survivor told The Army Times that she was "beyond happy" that the case was being reviewed.

Hughes' brigade commander decided against prosecution in August of 2018 based on what was known at the time, including that there had been no other reports of misconduct.

The Army Times said that following the August 2018 decision, "Hughes' name appeared on the sergeant first class select promotion list."