BARNSLEY CARER INVOLVED IN HUMILIATING CARE HOME ABUSE PICTURES NAMED
A mother and daughter sacked from their roles as carers for taking “humiliating” pictures of residents have been named and shamed for the first time after the jilted ex who shared them on Facebook was jailed.Hayley Newton and her mum Diane Thelwell were two of those involved in a South Yorkshire Police investigation into neglect and abuse at the Cherry Trees care home in Barnsley in June last year.
Police stated there had not been enough evidence to bring a prosecution against those in the probe and the case was dropped.
Ms Newton and her mother Ms Thelwell’s involvement was uncovered when Ms Newton’s boyfriend at the time, Jamie Phillips, posted the photos in revenge for being dumped.
One of those pictured was 83-year-old Shirley Duffy who was turned upside down in her chair and left visibly distressed.
Her granddaughter Leanne Lunn said the whole family are still dealing with the consequences of her abuse and neglect.
Ms Lunn added that some of the carers at the Cherry Trees care home were "amazing" while it was just a select few involved in the police investigation.
Sheldon Crown Court heard Ms Newton broke up with Phillips in June 2020 during a row over contact with her ex and the father of her child.
Phillips, 27, found the Facebook chat history after Ms Newton gave him her account password.
Prosecutor Nicoleta Alistari said that at the end of the argument, Ms Newton, who worked as a carer for four years, told Phillips she wanted to end the relationship.
As Phillips left and Ms Newton returned to her house in Barnsley, he told her she would regret dumping him.
Ms Newton later began receiving concerned messages about pictures of vulnerable and frail elderly people being posted on her Facebook page.
She tried to delete them but was unable because Phillips had changed her password.
The court heard the pictures had been taken and shared by Ms Newton and her mother Diane Thelwell in their own messages.
Phillips approached their boss at the care home, leading to both of them being dismissed.
Judge Rachael Harrison described the photos posted on Ms Newton’s Facebook page as “humiliating” and told Phillips he should have gone to the police instead of approaching his ex’s manager.
She said: “It was a terrible thing to do, not for Hayley Newton but for those people in the images.
“Your actions caused hurt and humiliation, but your aim was not right.
What you should have done was go to the authorities.
Your aim was to cause hurt elsewhere.” Phillips, of Newington Avenue, Barnsley, pleaded guilty to causing a computer to perform a function with intent to gain unauthorized access and also admitted a separate burglary offense from 2018, for which he was sentenced to 19 months in prison.
