Hey Dad! star Sarah Monahan says she'll 'sue the pants off him'

Former Hey Dad star Sarah Monahan seen here on Channel 9's 'A Current Affair'. Picture: Courtesy of Channel 9 Source: No Source

Hey Dad cast (back L-R) Ben Oxenbould, Julie McGregor, Robert Hughes, (front L-R) Sarah Monahan, Mathew Krok and Rachael Beck / File Source: Supplied

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A year after first airing explosive claims that she was sexually assaulted by Hughes, Sarah Monahan says she now wants to "sue the pants off" him, the Herald Sun reported.

The former child star, now 33, also told A Current Affair last night she wants to take TV executives to court, claiming they had knowledge of her on-screen dad's alleged inappropriate behaviour at the time.

Monahan, who played schoolgirl Jenny Kelly in the hit '80s sitcom, claimed Hughes fondled her and exposed himself to her on the set from the age of six.

Hughes has vehemently denied the allegations and last year engaged defamation lawyers.

She told ACA last night that she would not wait for NSW police to finish their investigation as she was not sure if charges would ever be laid.

"There were a lot of people who knew, and there were a lot of people who had the power to stop it, and a lot of those people need to be taught a lesson," she said.

Monahan, who now lives in Texas, claimed station chiefs knew about her alleged victimisation, but failed to protect her.

The show was commissioned by Channel 7 but produced independently.

"I was sure that they knew because everybody knew . . . it was all about making money and the best way to hurt them is with their pocketbook, so go after their money," she said.

"I hope that the people who were involved realise when they are slapped with a lawsuit that maybe they should have taken better steps back then to protect a child in that situation."

When the scandal broke last year, fellow co-stars Simone Buchanan and Ben Oxenbould said they had approached a station executive about Monahan but were told to keep quiet.

They spoke out after the executive publicly denied knowledge of Monahan's alleged abuse, saying only he'd heard rumours about another young actor and had confronted Hughes about them.

But Oxenbould accused Hey Dad! producers of a cover-up, alleging he was intimidated into keeping quiet and told it was a "lesson in professionalism".

Buchanan claimed that when she alerted an executive, she was told he would talk to Hughes but she should keep quiet.

She also said she was touched "inappropriately" by the show's star when she was 18.

NSW police said in a statement yesterday they have investigated a number of incidents that occurred between 1982 and 1994 with "numerous persons interviewed to date".

But they refused to comment further, saying the probe was continuing.

Hughes' solicitor could not be contacted last night.

A Seven spokeswoman said it had not been notified of legal action.