A carer who left a severely autistic woman living in fear after he manhandled and abused her at a care facility has avoided jail after a judge ruled his actions were ”not malicious.” Joseph Jones, 31, was accused of dragging the non-verbal victim by the scruff of her neck, throwing her on a sofa and using his body weight to pin her down when he was responsible for her care.
In one incident, Jones, a father of one, reportedly flew into a rage when he was awoken from sleep during a shift by the woman who wanted to go for a walk. He is said to have “reacted angrily”, dragging her into her bedroom and, when she fell, picking her up and throwing her onto the settee.
Jones, who has an 11-month-old child, was reported to the police after two whistleblower colleagues came forward, one of whom secretly filmed the abuse. One colleague was said to have been nervous about exposing Jones as he was related to one of the managers at the facility in Sandbach, Cheshire.
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At Chester Crown Court, Jones, who has since found employment in a different sector, admitted a charge of ill-treatment and received a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. Initially, he denied the charge but changed his plea after being told he would not go to prison if he pleaded guilty and provided a ”positive” background report.
‘You lost your patience’
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Steven Everett said: ”I was interested to see you say you enjoyed care work. If you do not mind me saying sir, you did not show too much enjoyment or any care in dealing with your victim [redacted] who undoubtedly has real mental health issues and issues with autism which are really challenging for her.
“I do not believe that you have the aptitude for looking after people like this lady. Fortunately, there is no suggestion these were serious assaults and it is not suggested that you were malicious.
”You merely lost your patience and you were heavy-handed. But there was a trust in you to look after this lady properly and not to lose your temper, to be patient with her in her difficulties and challenging nature and in truth you failed miserably in that regard.”
The judge said Jones’ behaviour was made worse by his imposing size compared to his vulnerable victim, but accepted his behaviour was a “one-off” in the “challenging circumstances”.
Earlier Mr Myles Wilson, prosecuting said: “In effect the defendant ill-treated a woman when he was a paid carer, shouting at her, pushing her about, handling her by gripping her around the neck and throat. The victim is severely autistic and non-verbal. She cannot wash herself or cook for herself. She is cared for in a flat in Congleton 24 hours a day where she has a number of carers.
“She is able to use some gestures to say some things but she can get frustrated and agitated. Her behaviour can be described as challenging.”
Mr Wilson added while Jones was the victim’s senior care worker, three of his colleagues described the abuse they witnessed. Video evidence and photos recorded one incident where Jones’ victim was left with marks on her neck.
One carer, Thomas Clark, is said to have reported Jones to two managers, despite feeling nervous as Jones is related to one of the managers. That report was passed on to police.
‘He dragged her back up and threw her on the sofa in her bedroom’
Mr Wilson continued: “Thomas Clark described working with him on December 31, 2022 at this flat. During the shift mid-morning Thomas Clark saw the defendant drag the victim across the floor by the scruff of the neck throwing her down on the sofa, using his body to pin her down.
“Thomas was shocked at what the defendant was doing and used his phone to start recording part of the incident.
“The 43 second clip shows the defendant on top of the victim who is distressed. He is telling her to be quiet. I would not describe him as having lost his temper but certainly forceful in what he is saying. He wants her to be quiet and she is not being quiet.
“After that incident, about three weeks later, the victim was indicating that she would like to go for a walk. The defendant refused and in fact, he fell asleep on the sofa – of course he should not do that. The victim tapped the defendant awake and he reacted angrily by dragging her into her bedroom. She fell on the way. He dragged her back up and threw her on the sofa in her bedroom.”
The court heard that Mr Clark took photos of her neck following this incident and that she had sustained “fleeting red marks” to her neck.
Mr Wilson added: “Another carer, Amelia Meyer, also had an incident with the defendant in January 2023. She saw the defendant losing his patience with the victim, manhandling her, marching her from room to room, holding her by the neck.
”She heard an incident in the victim’s bedroom, looked through the crack and saw her lying down on the sofa with the defendant standing over her, leaning down and shouting at her.
“The two carers made statements to police and described what they had seen. They said the defendant ordered the victim about, threatened to smack her, shouted at her and physically intimidated her. They described how she would be petrified by the defendant.”
When interviewed by police Jones, a former head chef at a restaurant, denied wrongdoing and said the video showed him ”protecting the victim from hurting herself.” He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,600 in prosecution costs.
Jones, from Bryn Offa, Wrexham, North Wales, was initially also charged with intentional strangulation but his not guilty plea was accepted by the prosecution. The court heard he is a stable relationship with his girlfriend who is standing by him.
His barrister Joshua Gorst said: ”There is a positive pre-sentence report and the author considers that he is suitable for unpaid work if a suspended sentence is to be imposed.”