A former care worker who robbed and burgled five of his former patients after losing his job has been jailed for eight years. Ediongseyene Essien, 32, of no fixed address, broke into the homes of four elderly and disabled victims the day after he was suspended from work, even smashing down the back door of a terrified couple in their 80s and helping himself to their money.
Weeks later, he struck again at the property of a blind wheelchair user, pretending to still be his carer before viciously kicking him out of the way as he forced entry to the address. His crime spree concluded when he snatched a woman's handbag as she returned home from a shopping trip, leaving her attempting in vain to fight him off with her walking stick.
Offences committed after suspension
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Friday that Essien had previously been employed as a care worker with a company called Comfort Care. However, he was suspended from his role the day before he attended the home address of one service user in the Tuebrook area at around lunchtime on March 10.
Laura Atherton, prosecuting, described how the occupant, a wheelchair user and former patient of the defendant, was in bed when Essien entered by accessing a key in a coded safe outside the property. He then took the man's bank card, which was subsequently used to complete a series of purchases at Bargain Booze and L7 Village Market in Fairfield.
Essien subsequently visited a 74-year-old man, who required carers four times a day due to his numerous health issues, at his ground floor flat in Anfield. He was said to have entered the victim's bedroom on this occasion, although it is believed that no items were taken from the address.
Elderly couple's lives devastated
At around 7.30pm, Essien gained access to the supported living accommodation of a bedbound man, also in Anfield, after telling staff that he had left some of his own property inside. He then spent up to 15 minutes rifling through this complainant's belongings before again leaving empty handed.
Essien was earlier said to have visited the home of an 88-year-old woman and her 85-year-old husband, also a wheelchair user, at around 3pm the same day and let himself in before leaving. He then attended again at 9pm and began ringing the doorbell and waving through the window before returning once more around 20 minutes later, at which stage he kicked at the back door until he was able to smash a glass pane.
The female occupant was left screaming for help as a result, with Essien having taken the man's wallet, which contained £200, before leaving. In a statement read to the court on her behalf, she detailed how the incident had "completely devastated their lives" and added: "We welcomed this man into our house and treated him with nothing but kindness and trust. To have this trust betrayed is heartbreaking."
"The feeling of absolute helplessness in that moment was truly awful. My home, which I loved and cherished, is no longer my safe place. Due to our age, disabilities and severe mobility issues, we are unable to leave the house. We are trapped in the very place this trauma occurred. He robbed an elderly couple of their peace, comfort and safety in their final years."
Robberies of vulnerable victims
Essien was arrested in relation to this spate of burglaries before subsequently being released on bail, after which he attended the home of a blind cerebral palsy sufferer in Edge Hill shortly after 2pm on May 15. Having assumed that a caller who was repeatedly ringing his doorbell was one of his carers, the occupant made his way to his front door in his wheelchair before stating that he had cancelled his scheduled visits for that day.
But Essien maintained that he had been "sent to check on" the man and began forcing his way inside, kicking the victim out of the way as he did so. He then ran inside and stole £90 in cash before leaving again.
This victim outlined in his own statement how he had "not slept properly since" and was now "very nervous and anxious". With his aunt, who he had previously lived with for 30 years, having died in March of this year, he added: "I just hope he doesn't get away with it. I'm very wary of new carers. I'm scared he will come back."
At around 5pm the same day, Essien then targeted a "highly vulnerable" woman who was "small in stature" as she returned home from a visit to a nearby shop. This saw him grab hold of her handbag, which contained £40 in cash and her bank cards, and "forcefully pulling it from her grasp" when she attempted to fight him off with her walking stick.
Her shopping bag was meanwhile ripped as a result of the altercation, causing the contents to fall to the pavement. She told the court in her statement: "I've lost any independence I had before. I used to go out to the local shop and attend various community activities."
"As a result of this, I've felt very anxious at even the thought of going out on my own. I have to ask staff in my supported accommodation to go out to the shop for me. I'm a very vulnerable person. I feel that the person has seen me as an easy target, which is why he's attacked me. I fear someone will see me as an easy target again."
Remorse and sentencing
Under interview, Essien confessed to committing the robbery on the man and told detectives that he was "homeless and needed money". He similarly made admissions to robbing the woman, adding that he had "lost his job and was struggling and needed money for food".
Essien has no previous convictions. Louise McCloskey, defending, said on his behalf: "I hope your honour accepts through me that he is genuinely remorseful. What we are talking about is two days. It is not a lengthy timeframe, but there have been significant ramifications as a result of what he has done."
"Mr Essien says, very frankly, at the age of 32, having secured employment, having broken through difficulties in his own background to be a role model within his own family, he committed what he himself says was the worst thing he has ever done. They are his words. I hope your honour accepts, through me, that he is genuinely sorry for what he did."
"During this very short period of time, something went very, very, drastically wrong. During that period between March and May, he had suffered hardships. He had sought assistance from others due to the loss of his employment, due to loss of his student status here, his declining mental health and uncertainty about what would happen to him, and, out of desperation, he committed those deeply unpleasant offences."
"He committed them often in drink, which, while it is an aggravating factor, perhaps goes to explain how this young man, who is extremely mild mannered and polite, could have committed such awful offences. He wants the court to understand that what happened on those two days will never ever be repeated."
"The defendant will automatically be subject to deportation, ordinarily, having served around 30 per cent of his sentence. Many will say rightly so, and he will accept the punishment that your honour must impose on him. He is trying to engage in custody with the opportunities that he can avail himself of."
"The defendant has extensive family responsibilities. He has children, a wife and ageing parents. He is unlikely to see any of those for a significant period of time, not least one of his youngest children, who he has not been able to meet yet due to his incarceration."
"Notwithstanding that his offending has brought great shame and hardship on his family, they indicate that they will support him once he returns home. Hopefully, he will be able to move forward when he returns to Nigeria and be the man that they thought he was. This is likely to be this defendant's first and last custodial sentence."
Essien admitted two counts of robbery, four of burglary and a charge of fraud. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was seen holding his head in his hands before he was jailed for eight years and handed restraining orders which will ban him from contacting his victims for the next decade.
Sentencing, Judge Stuart Driver KC said: "You were a care worker. Your job was to visit elderly, very vulnerable people in their homes, so you were given the codes to open their key safes so that you could go through their front doors. You were suspended from your employment, and then you decided to use your knowledge of those people to trespass in their homes in order to steal from them."
"The vulnerability of your victims is demonstrated by the impact of the burglary at the home of [the elderly couple]. You could not get through their front door, so you terrified them by kicking at their back door until it smashed open. [She] screamed for help. Her husband is immobile, wheelchair bound, and you knew that. Her victim personal statement states that you betrayed their trust, and their lives are devastated."
"The victim [of the first robbery] was the most vulnerable of all. He is blind, has cerebral palsy, diabetes and other conditions. He is confined to a wheelchair. You knew all of that. You chose his house. You rang his doorbell. He answered."
"You pretended that you had been sent to care for him that day. He attempted to close that door. You forced it open and you kicked him out of the way. You then took what money you could find. His victim personal statement says that it has left him very afraid."
"You were previously his carer. You told him that day that you were there as his carer. You used your knowledge of the layout of his house to steal the money. That is a very significant aggravating feature. The further aggravating feature is, of course, the extreme vulnerability of your victim."
"On the same day, you committed another robbery. You targeted deliberately [the victim] because she is highly vulnerable. She has poor physical health and walks with a stick. She also has very poor mental health. You watched her as she slowly returned from a shop using a walking stick. Near her front door, you robbed her of her handbag."
"This is out of character for you. You were, up to this point, a post graduate student. It seems likely that an alcohol problem was the root of your downfall. This will be your first custodial sentence."
"I accept that you committed the crimes when you were at a low ebb, having lost your job, and that you were homeless before you did the robberies. I accept that the offences occurred on two days only when your mental health was declining, and the pre-sentence report says you are a low risk of reoffending. You have shown real remorse."
