Two care workers at a Liverpool nursing home allegedly subjected an 85-year-old dementia sufferer to horrific abuse, including placing underpants on her head and shaking their buttocks in her face, a court has heard.
William Vasey, a senior care assistant, is accused of repeatedly putting the underwear on the woman's head, while colleague Wendy Shelley is alleged to have 'shaken her bum in the face of' the resident at Wavertree Nursing Home. Three other staff members—Josh Ireland, Valerie Marshall, and Adelle McIlhatton—are also on trial, accused of watching and laughing as the victim was 'humiliated and ganged up on.'
Prosecutor Jonathan Rogers told Liverpool Crown Court that CCTV footage captured the mistreatment on February 9 last year. He said the defendants were responsible for looking after residents but 'they all failed to do so,' instead 'ganging up on her, humiliating and making fun of her.' The footage allegedly shows Shelley pushing the woman, grabbing her face, and shaking her buttocks in her face despite the resident trying to push her away.
Vasey is said to have thrown underpants at the woman repeatedly and placed them on her head, even as she tried to push him away. The other defendants are alleged to have done nothing to intervene and instead laughed at the abuse. Vasey claims he only placed the underwear on her head to put rollers in her hair, while Shelley says she shook her buttocks 'as a bit of fun' after being called 'fat a---' by the woman.
All five defendants deny charges of ill treatment and neglect. The trial continues.
