Saffron Walden manager Jason Maher has claimed former EFL footballer Kiernan Hughes-Mason, who was found guilty of child cruelty and causing grievous bodily harm to a two-year-old girl, had ‘successfully passed DBS checks’.
Maher also added he was unaware of Hughes-Mason’s crime and stated that ‘Essex Police should have serious questions to answer’.
Reports emerged on Wednesday that the former Hashtag United centre forward, Hughes-Mason, had inflicted life-changing brain injuries on a two-year-old girl.
The 32-year-old left his victim needing round-the-clock care following the attack in Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex back in 2020. He will be sentenced on September 10 at Basildon Crown Court.
Maher, who says he signed the footballer to Saffron Walden in July 2022, published a post on X (formerly Twitter) questioning Essex Police over the matter, while admitting he was unaware of the footballer’s history.
‘For those asking I don’t know about it!,’ Maher wrote on Wednesday evening, in response to the reports about Hughes-Mason.
Saffron Walden men’s first team coach Jason Maher questioned how Kiernan Hughes-Mason had ‘successfully passed DBS checks’ after admitting he had signed the player
Former EFL footballer Hughes-Mason (pictured in 2013) has been found guilty of child cruelty and grievous bodily harm
He added: ‘I signed him but I never heard a whisper. The guy successfully passed DBS checks in that time and @EssexPoliceUK should have serious questions to answer.
‘Don’t assumer that people who knew him had any idea about the crimes.’
A DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check is an analysis into a person’s criminal record that helps employers decide if an individual applying for a position in their company is suitable to work there. The checks are particularly important for roles involving working with children or vulnerable people.
According to Gov.uk, an Enhanced DBS check can also include information taken from police records that they deem relevant to a person’s job application and ought to be disclosed.
Hughes-Mason played for Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur during his youth career before featuring twice for Millwall’s first-team between 2009 and 2010.
He later played non-League football for a host of clubs, including Grimsby, Welling, Kettering, Maidstone, Leatherhead, Grays and Barking.
Hughes-Mason began his managerial career last year with Tower Hamlets. He was managing Enfield Borough before being sacked following Wednesday’s conviction.
A statement issued by club chairman Marvin Walker on Wednesday evening read: ‘Effective immediately, Enfield Borough FC has decided to relieve Kiernan Mason-Hughes from his duties as manager.
‘This decision comes in light of recent revelations regarding serious legal matters from Mr. Mason-Hughes’ past, which were not disclosed during the hiring process.
‘Enfield Borough FC is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and accountability, and we believe that this action is necessary to uphold these values.
‘We appreciate the understanding and continued support of our fans and community during this time. No further statement will be made.’
Hughes-Mason had inflicted life-changing brain injuries on a two-year-old girl
This club statement was issued by Enfield Borough FC after Hughes-Mason was convicted
Hashtag United – where Hughes-Mason played and coached between 2020 and 2022 – also issued a statement on Wednesday night.
He had also stepped into management following his playing career, working with Tower Hamlets
It read: ‘This evening the club has been made aware of some deeply shocking news regarding one of our former players and reserve team manager, Kiernan Hughes-Mason, who has been found guilty of crimes that are frankly sickening. Firstly, everyone associated with the club would like to offer our deepest sympathy to the victim and their family. We can’t possibly imagine what they have been going through since these horrific events took place.
‘We can categorically say that the club had no knowledge whatsoever of these events until today. We are told that the crimes he has now been found guilty of occurred before he joined us. Some serious flaws have been exposed in procedures as we’d received confirmation from the relevant authorities that he was clear to coach as part of standard background checks.
‘Our club has an absolute zero tolerance policy on behaviour even closely relating to this. Our values are centered around positivity, inclusivity and above all else, creating a safe place for all.
‘We reiterate our heartfelt sympathy for what the victim and their family have had to go through and would like to remind anyone reading this of some resources that are available should you need them: Childline: 0800 1111, National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247’.
Hughes-Mason has been condemned after his conviction by some of his former clubs including Hashtag United in Essex
Hashtag United issued a club statement following news of Hughes-Mason’s conviction
Hughes-Mason called 999 and asked for an ambulance on January 31 in 2020 when he was supposed to be taking care of his ex-partner’s daughter.
After paramedics arrived, he initially claimed that he had been downstairs when he heard a loud noise from upstairs and that he believed that the young girl had fallen on a doll’s house.
The girl was placed in an induced coma and doctors discovered 17 different injuries to her legs, back, face and chest.
It is believed that these injuries were all sustained between October 2019 and January 2020.
Hughes-Mason was arrested on February 14 in 2020.
While investigating, police officers found messages sent by Hughes-Mason in which he said: ‘She’s actually getting on my nerves’ and ‘I’m gonna hit her’.
The prosecution barrister said in their closing speeches: ‘The experts are all unanimously of the view that the child’s devastating head and brain injuries could not have been caused accidentally while she was alone in her room.
‘Hughes-Mason was keen from the outset to portray himself to the police as the doting stepfather who treated the children as his own, saying how much he loved them.
Hughes-Mason played for Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur during his youth career before featuring twice for Millwall’s first-team between 2009 and 2010
‘Yet in his text messages written at the time, he constantly referred to them as “your children”, or “your child” to the child’s mother. He regularly belittled them, talked about them as if they were stupid and put them down.
‘In respect of the head and brain injury that the child suffered… the experts all agree that the pattern of injuries found is consistent with the child having been vigorously shaken… with her head likely being hit against a hard surface.
‘The only explanation for the pattern of injuries suffered by the child was that they were inflicted by this defendant and inflicted deliberately.’
A statement from the victim’s family read: ‘We finally have a verdict and that man is now held accountable for what he did to our little girl.
‘We have had to go through what no family should ever have to experience, and our girl is going to bear the consequences of what he has done to her for the rest of her life’.
