THIRTEEN CONVICTED OVER DEVON CARE HOME ABUSE – VIELSTONE CARE HOME NEAR BIDEFORD AND SISTER HOME GATOOMA NEAR HOLSWORTHY
Thirteen people have been convicted after an inquiry into “organised and systemic” abuse at two care homes for adults with learning disabilities.Residents at Vielstone near Bideford, in Devon, were routinely punished by being held in empty rooms without food, heating or a toilet, a court heard.
Staff imprisoned them in the rooms, often overnight, during 2010 and 2011, as an abusive culture developed.
Manager Jolyon Marshall was jailed for 28 months.
Twelve other people, including other staff members and Marshall’s wife, were convicted after a series of trials at Bristol Crown Court.
Prosecutor Andrew Langdon QC said staff tried to correct residents’ behaviour as if they would train an animal...
A man, who cannot be named, spent 195 sessions in the “quiet room”, including 13 overnight stays.
His mother said the treatment was “barbaric, disgusting and unnecessary,” and that she tried to flag up the problems.
Residents were held in punishment rooms at Vielstone care home.
The sentencing included Jolyon Marshall, who is a director and was sentenced to 28 months for conspiracy to falsely imprison residents and perverting the course of justice after pleading guilty.
Four other staff were also sentenced.
The judge William Hart emphasized Marshall's control and power in the abuse, calling the institution a “lack of care in the community” and stating “those two rooms cast a dark shadow over people’s lives.” The case also involved other staff and family members, with a complex timeline of events from 1993 to 2016, including the closure of all Atlas care homes by the CQC and multiple guilty and not guilty verdicts.
chief inspector Andrea Sutcliffe condemned the abuse, stating “No-one should be subject to the degrading abuse people experienced and I am glad that the perpetrators have been recognised for the criminals they are.”
