A care home worker who filmed himself sexually abusing elderly women with dementia has been jailed for 15 years.
David Jones, 53, targeted highly vulnerable pensioners in his campaign of ‘abhorrent’ abuse, locking himself into their rooms and filming some of his actions.
One of the victims was unable to speak, to reveal what had happened to her, while the family of another had noticed the ‘fear in her eyes’ but say their concerns were dismissed by care home bosses as simply being symptoms of advancing dementia.
Canterbury Crown Court heard on Friday that Jones was caught by a colleague in one of the victims’ rooms with his trousers down, and a search of his phone revealed the scale of his crimes.
He was immediately confronted and instructed to leave the room, and the victim was placed into the care of other staff members.
A second victim was identified by police using images Jones had taken of himself carrying out the sexual abuse.
Police also found indecent images of children, and a ‘plethora’ of images of suspected further care home victims who have not yet been identified.
Jones pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice, sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder by a care worker, and possession of indecent images of children.
David Jones, 53, targeted highly vulnerable pensioners in his campaign of ‘abhorrent’ abuse
He was jailed by Judge Simon James, the Recorder of Canterbury, for 15 years with an extra four years on licence.
Jones is set to serve the whole of his 15-year sentence in prison, unless he can convince a Parole Board after at least 10 years that he is safe to be released.
The judge told him: ‘Both of your elderly victims were particularly vulnerable, one lacked any capacity to consent and the other, being non-verbal, was unable to communicate or complain.
‘They had both been entrusted into your care and your targeting of them for your own warped sexual satisfaction was about as abhorrent a breach of trust as it is possible to imagine.’
The children of one of the elderly victims say there were warning signs about Jones’s abuse, and blamed care home management for failing to properly investigate.
They said they are ‘relieved’ to know that Jones is now behind bars, and thanked prosecutors and police for ‘bringing this depraved individual to justice’.
‘Our mother has suffered extreme fear, pain and distress whilst lacking the capacity to report what had repeatedly been done to her, let alone process it.’
The family said they noticed a ‘rapid deterioration’ in their mother’s health, including bruising, broken bones and seeing ‘fear in her eyes’, and raised their concerns with care home management even before Jones’s abuse was uncovered.
‘We were dismissed, treated as if we were overly protective and told that her fear and deterioration was due to her dementia’, they said in a statement.
‘This allowed Jones to get away with committing his abuse until further alarms were raised by a whistleblower who caught him in the act.’
The family said they are coming to terms with their decision to trust the care home, and feel let down that it still has a ‘good’ rating from the Care Quality Commission in spite of the criminal investigation and Jones’s abuse.
‘We are deeply upset with (the care home) but are also concerned that this is not an isolated incident,’ they added.
‘We call on all managers of care homes across the country to urgently revisit their safeguarding protocols to prevent sick individuals from taking advantage of residents’ vulnerabilities in this way.’
Last year staff had grown increasingly concerned about Jones’s behaviour towards certain residents.
One colleague noted that Jones would visit one resident far more frequently than required, while neglecting to check on others in his care.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge James said it is ‘virtually impossible to gauge the psychological harm suffered by your victims’.
He said he recognised the ‘feelings of betrayal and understandable anger of those who entrusted their loves ones into your care’.
Following sentencing, DS Richard Allingham of Kent Police, said: ‘Instead of fulfilling his duty of care, Jones exploited vulnerable women for his own sexual gratification.
‘His actions were deplorable and a profound breach of trust.
‘I welcome the sentence handed down by the court today, and I want to thank the victim’s families for their courage and support throughout this investigation.’
Alan Collins, a partner at law firm Bolt Burdon Kemp, who is acting for the family in a civil damages claim against the care home, said after the sentencing: ‘This appalling case highlights the need for robust vetting, recruiting and monitoring of care home staff, and the importance of conducting thorough investigations when families raise concerns, as well as whistleblowing training for all staff.
‘David Jones was able to carry out his disturbing crimes with impunity, due to the failure of the care home to adequately investigate concerns.
‘Care homes are expected to provide a safe environment for their vulnerable residents and staff who are there to care for them.
‘Any allegations of abuse should be taken extremely seriously and investigated appropriately.’
