Man guilty of ‘torturing’ elderly father

A man neglected his elderly father by locking him in a dark room overnight and forcing him to wear a nappy and a wetsuit he could not remove – treatment a judge said was ‘‘akin to torture’’.

The man and his partner faced two charges of neglecting a vulnerable adult – his 90-year-old Christchurch father, who had advanced dementia and has since died.

The neglect occurred between mid-2019 and mid-2020 when they were his caregivers.

He also faced a charge of assault, as well as 32 charges of theft. He took about $275,000 from his father’s bank account, and also faced a charge of forging a document purporting to be for repairs to his father’s home.

At Christchurch District Court yesterday, Judge Mark Callaghan found the couple guilty on both charges of neglect, confining the man in ‘‘unhealthy conditions’’ and failing to provide the necessities for his health.

The man was also found guilty of all the theft charges, assault, and forging a document purportedly for building repairs that he actually used to buy a new car. He was cleared of failing to keep records as a power of attorney.

During the trial the court heard allegations the man’s father was locked in a dark room for up to 15 hours at a time, with no way to go to the toilet other than by using a plastic bag or a plastic urinal, or to go in his bed or on the floor.

The elderly man was put in a nappy and a wetsuit overnight – which had the zip cord removed to prevent him from taking it off.

The trial was shown hours of CCTV footage from inside the man’s room. In a video from September 2019, the man could be seen knocking loudly on his door asking for help while trying to clean himself up after defecating.

The couple will be sentenced on October 11, and were denied bail. Their names are to remain secret while they await a High Court appeal on name suppression.

Judge Callaghan said there were inconsistencies in the son’s evidence about the conditions in his father’s bedroom, as well as other allegations.

‘‘[He] continually denied many of the allegations put forward by the prosecution that were clearly true, based on the real evidence and witness testimony that was before the court.’’

The judge said the social worker and carers never saw the ‘‘totality’’ of the conditions the elderly man was placed in.

He said despite the couple seeking to ‘‘shift any blame or liability’’, no-one else was to blame for their neglect.

Judge Callaghan described the treatment as a ‘‘major departure’’ from the reasonable standard of care required.

‘‘It was so bad in all the circumstances as to be criminal.’’