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Winterbourne View: Care workers jailed for abuse | Winterbourne View: Care workers jailed for abuse |
(35 minutes later) | |
Six out of 11 care workers who admitted a total of 38 charges of neglect or abuse of patients at a private hospital have been jailed. | |
Five other workers from Winterbourne View near Bristol were given suspended sentences after the acts of abuse were uncovered by BBC Panorama. | Five other workers from Winterbourne View near Bristol were given suspended sentences after the acts of abuse were uncovered by BBC Panorama. |
Ringleader Wayne Rogers, 32, who admitted nine counts of ill-treating patients, was jailed for two years. | Ringleader Wayne Rogers, 32, who admitted nine counts of ill-treating patients, was jailed for two years. |
Judge Neil Ford QC said there was a "culture of cruelty" at the care home. | Judge Neil Ford QC said there was a "culture of cruelty" at the care home. |
'Vile and inexcusable' | |
A total of two nurses and nine support workers all pleaded guilty to the charges. | A total of two nurses and nine support workers all pleaded guilty to the charges. |
Judge Ford said no attempt was made to provide a caring environment and if the abuse had not been uncovered by the BBC, it would have continued. | Judge Ford said no attempt was made to provide a caring environment and if the abuse had not been uncovered by the BBC, it would have continued. |
He told the sentencing hearing the home had been "run with a scandalous lack of regard to patients and staff". | He told the sentencing hearing the home had been "run with a scandalous lack of regard to patients and staff". |
"What happened was a gross breach of trust," he said. | "What happened was a gross breach of trust," he said. |
Alison Dove, 25, of Kingswood, was jailed for 20 months as was Graham Doyle, 26, of Patchway. Both pleaded guilty to seven charges of abuse. | |
Addressing Dove, Judge Ford said: "You suggested it was born of boredom during long shifts and that you had viewed patients as playthings." | |
He also referred to a letter Doyle wrote to him, in which the defendant had described his own behaviour as "disgusting, vile and inexcusable". | |
'Bite face off' | 'Bite face off' |
Judge Ford then told Doyle: "You are considered genuinely remorseful and haunted by guilt. | |
"But your treatment of Simone Blake was often cruel, callous and degrading. It was always wholly unjustified." | |
Prosecutor Kerry Barker QC, said care watchdogs failed to act on repeated warnings of "inhumane, cruel and hate-fuelled treatment" of patients. | Prosecutor Kerry Barker QC, said care watchdogs failed to act on repeated warnings of "inhumane, cruel and hate-fuelled treatment" of patients. |
"The so-called restraint techniques were used to inflict pain, humiliate patients and bully them into compliance with the demands of their carers," he said. | "The so-called restraint techniques were used to inflict pain, humiliate patients and bully them into compliance with the demands of their carers," he said. |
Abuse of five residents at the home has featured in footage played to the court during a week of sentencing hearings. | Abuse of five residents at the home has featured in footage played to the court during a week of sentencing hearings. |
Among the hours of graphic footage, support worker Rogers is shown slapping patient Simon Tovey across the cheek before telling him: "Do you want a scrap? Do you want a fight? Go on and I will bite your bloody face off." | Among the hours of graphic footage, support worker Rogers is shown slapping patient Simon Tovey across the cheek before telling him: "Do you want a scrap? Do you want a fight? Go on and I will bite your bloody face off." |
In a statement read outside court after the hearing, families of the abused patients said seeing the footage had been "distressing and extremely harrowing". | |
'Cherish them' | |
"The guilty parties were only charged with offences shown on the Panorama programme and it would be naive to believe that this monstrous behaviour had not been continuing for a very long time," they said. | |
"We would like you to remember that our children have suffered greatly and it will take a long time for their physical and mental scars to heal, for some that may never happen. | |
"However, they are are our children, our family members, our friends and we love and cherish them and are proud of them." | |
Sentences of all those found guilty are detailed below: | Sentences of all those found guilty are detailed below: |
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