Carers spared jail over abuse of woman, 95
TWO ‘cruel’ care workers have been spared jail after they were secretly filmed abusing an elderly, blind dementia victim.
Pedro Dias, 21, and Piotre Ciecielowski, 26, verbally abused the 95-yearold wheelchair user as they got her ready for bed at the Macclesfield-based Prestbury House Care Home, a court heard.
During the disturbing incident the men ‘forcibly and unceremoniously’ dumped the victim onto her bed to clean her, the hearing was told.
When she started to complain Dias threatened to ‘break every bone’ in her body, ‘kill’ her and drag her by the head to her bed, prosecutors said.
The Portuguese national also physically abused her, slapping her across the face causing her to yelp in pain and calling her a ‘dipstick’.
Ciecielowski, a Polish national, failed to stop Dias or report his behaviour and branded the victim a ‘silly bitch’.
The incident was captured on secret CCTV cameras installed by the victim’s daughter after she became concerned about her mother’s unexplained injuries. In the footage from March 31 the distressed victim is heard repeatedly crying and pleading to God for help.
Dias then accuses the victim of trying to bite and scratch him before saying: “God thinks you are a bitch.”
At Chester Crown Court, Ciecielowski, of Brown Street, Macclesfield, and Dias, of Rodney Street, Macclesfield, admitted ill-treatment while working as a care worker.
They were sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 250 hours unpaid work.
They must both pay the victim £250 compensation.
Sentencing, Judge Simon Berkson said the defendants’ behaviour had ‘degraded’ the victim and was ‘cruel and anything but caring’.
He said: “She was verbally abused by both of you. She was slapped in the face by you Dias.
“Ciecielowski you did not stop it, report it and appeared unconcerned.
“She was clearly distressed and crying.
“She should have been cared for not ill-treated.
“Her daughter should have been happy someone was caring for her, not suspicious.
“She was a challenging patient.
Matters have been raised about the care home but this is no excuse for your behaviour.
“You will no longer be able to work in the care industry and rightly so.”
The incident prompted an unannounced inspection by government watchdogs the Care Quality Commission which has downgraded the rating of the care home on West Park Drive to ‘inadequate’, the court heard.