‘Callous’ care worker jailed 3 months

Judge calls Sheila Gerrard’s behaviour ‘degrading’ — she rubbed urine-soaked sheets on a blind man

KITCHENER — A residential aide worker who rubbed urine-soaked sheets on a blind man living at a Cambridge home for people with severe disabilities was sentenced to three months in jail on Thursday.

Justice Melanie Sopinka said jail time was the only reasonable option for Sheila Gerrard, 62.

Sopinka said Gerrard’s behaviour toward the resident was “callous and degrading” and that rubbing urine-soaked sheets on the man to teach him a lesson was particularly “egregious.”

In addition, Sopinka sentenced Gerrard to two years probation and banned her from working with vulnerable people again.

Gerrard was led out of the courtroom by a special constable to serve her sentence. As she left, she waved to her daughter, who was overcome with emotion.

Sopinka said the people in the home where Gerrard worked are some of the most vulnerable in the community and they need protection.

Sopinka said the sentence “sends a message that this type of conduct won’t be tolerated in our society.”

During a previous sentencing hearing, the crown prosecutor requested a jail sentence of six to eight months while Gerrard’s lawyer Cooper Lord suggesting a conditional sentence of four to six months. Both suggested a period of probation.

Gerrard worked for Community Living Cambridge at North Lodge, where she assisted with the caring of seniors with severe developmental disabilities.

Gerrard pleaded not guilty to three charges: two counts of assault against the resident and one of uttering a threat to cause bodily harm against a co-worker. Sopinka found her guilty of the charges.

Gerrard was acquitted of charges related to other residents.

The agency, which has been serving vulnerable people in the community for 63 years, has 325 full- and part-time employ-

ees and 24 group homes in Cambridge.

North Lodge is a 12-person home offering around-the-clock care. Many of the residents have lived at the home for more than 25 years and some had multiple issues including cerebral palsy and dementia.

Court heard that Gerrard was trying to teach the elderly blind man, who has since died, a lesson. Gerrard also shoved the resident.

Gerrard twice assaulted the resident, who was in his 70s and had lived at North Lodge for 25 years. He couldn’t see, hear or speak and died shortly before the trial.

One day in 2016, after soiling the bed, the man was on the toilet naked when Gerrard rubbed urine-soaked linens against his chest, court was told. An employee who witnessed it said Gerrard told her she was “teaching him a lesson.”

In court, Gerrard denied the allegation. The judge said she rejected Gerrard’s evidence “in its entirety.”

On another day in 2016, Gerrard grabbed the man, turned him around and shoved him into bed with both hands. The shoving caused him to lose his balance.

The employee who saw the incident — the same one who saw the incident with the sheets — said it made her feel sick to her stomach.

Gerrard also told an employee to administer medication to a resident, even though the employee was not trained to do so. Gerrard said she would “sign off for it” and was later heard saying the employee knew better than to “rat her out” or she would slit her throat.