2014: JAILED: DEANE CARE WORKER WHO WAS SECRETLY FILMED HITTING DISABLED TEENAGER
A care worker has received a six-month prison sentence after being caught on a hidden camera assaulting a disabled teenage boy twice on the head.The footage recorded Stanley Nkenka, aged 36, hitting the young person and warning he would do it again if he did not stay in bed.
The victim, Mr.
Rowlands, who cannot speak and is the size of a 12-year-old, was born with a chromosome disorder, autism, and learning difficulties.
Nkenka, from St Ethelbert's Avenue in Deane, admitted at Preston Crown Court to ill-treatment of a person without mental capacity during the early hours of May 12.
The video footage showed Nkenka returning Mr.
Rowlands to his room after he had wandered off during the night, then striking him.
He then shoved him onto the bed, calling him "a stupid boy." Later, while in darkness, he quietly approached and asked, "Do you want some more?" before striking him on the back of the head again in a separate incident.
In sentencing, Judge Christopher Cornwall described the behavior as dismissive, unkind, and lacking compassion, showing a disrespect for the young man’s dignity.
Oxen Barn, operated privately by the Priory Group, is a specialized facility for adults with autism spectrum disorders and severe learning difficulties.
Earlier this year, two care workers from another Priory Group company in Bury were sentenced to seven months in prison after being caught on a hidden camera physically and verbally abusing a quadriplegic individual.
Julie, the mother of Mr.
Rowlands from Crewe, Cheshire, told the court she felt sick, heartbroken, angry, and overwhelmed with guilt after seeing the video of Nkenka hitting her son.
She expressed her fears that such abuse might happen again, noting that the incident occurred on her son's birthday and that it would forever tarnish their perception of care.
Her husband Paul noted that the trust they had placed in the caregivers had been severely damaged and that such harm could never be fully repaired.
In her defense, Kathryn Johnson, representing Nkenka, claimed her client was temporarily provoked by frustration with his workplace and expressed remorse.
However, the judge observed that Nkenka appeared calm and nonchalant in the covert footage.
Johnson explained that Nkenka felt undervalued and isolated at his job, having complained about discrimination, and that he had aspirations to become a nurse, a goal now thwarted.
She requested that the court consider a suspended sentence, highlighting his wife and young child's dependence on him, noting she held a student visa that might be jeopardized if she had to leave the country due to Nkenka’s actions.
The defense argued that Nkenka’s behavior was out of character and that the incident was an isolated act.
Nevertheless, the judge rejected these claims, emphasizing that workplace grievances could not justify losing self-control when dealing with a vulnerable young man.
