A 42-year-old United Kingdom-based Nigerian carer, Bilikesu Olagunju, has been sentenced for violently abusing an 88-year-old Dementia Patient just days before he died, leaving his family devastated.
Olagunju was secretly filmed on hidden CCTV cameras at the victim’s home in Bexley, Kent, dragging great-grandfather John Attard naked across the floor, ignoring his desperate pleas of “You are hurting me”.
She was heard threatening him: “Maybe I will beat you up. I will flog you. I will take you to the GP to get injections. I will call the police on you.”
According to MailOnline, Attard, who suffered from advanced dementia, was found unresponsive on Christmas Day 2022 with blood trickling down his face and died ten days later.
Olagunju, who had only been working in the role for six days, admitted to ill-treating or wilfully neglecting an individual while acting as a care worker.
At Woolwich Crown Court, she was given a six-week prison term, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 50 hours of unpaid work. The victim’s son, Chris Attard, said the sentence was “insult”:
“If those cameras had not been there, that person could still be out there treating elderly people like this. I was expecting a suspended sentence, but the length and community service aspect is an insult. What kind of a deterrent is that?” he said.
Chris added: “When we watched the footage back, it was heartbreaking and sickening. He was treated like a piece of meat, dragged around like a rag doll. Nobody deserves to be treated like that, let alone a vulnerable old man who did not have the ability to defend himself.”
He also said: “On Christmas Day, we found him unresponsive with blood on his head. He went into hospital and died 10 days later. We were told that the injuries did not cause his death, but we will never know what impact that had on him.”
The court heard how Olagunju taunted Mr Attard, forced him to drink coffee mixed with marmalade despite his diabetes, and cruelly mocked him while ignoring his cries.
The devastated family now hopes the footage will help shine a light on the hidden abuse that elderly and vulnerable people can face behind closed doors.
‘I was expecting a suspended sentence, but the length and community service aspect is an insult. What kind of a deterrent is that?’
He added: ‘She is physically trying to lift him like a rag doll. His face indicates the discomfort and pain he is feeling.
‘She lifts him off the floor, dragging him toward his armchair. He tells her: “My head is banging.”
The carer is heard on the footage saying to Mr Attard: ‘Me, I’ll flog you, flog you’, later adding: ‘Maybe I’ll beat you up. I’ll flog you. Take you to hospital, take you to GP to give injections and police.’
‘Three days after he was admitted to hospital I wrote a victim impact statement. My last words read: “I am yet to discover the long-term effect this may have on my dad, and his physical and mental welfare.”
‘Well, now I know – he never recovered and died seven days later in hospital.’
Addressing Olagunju directly, he said: ‘An autopsy could not link your actions to his death – but I feel personally that your actions, in part, contributed to his sudden death.’
Chris described his father, who had five children, 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, as ‘kind-hearted, generous, compassionate, and funny’, adding: ‘He was still enjoying what life he had left.’
‘They have lost a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and their memories of him are now tainted by what they have seen on the CCTV footage – and the way you behaved towards him.’
Olagunju, of Abbey Wood, wearing a light blue satin shirt and jeans, cried silently during the emotional statement.
He continued: ‘She accepts that she failed in her duty as a carer. She has been suffering from mental anguish as a result of this incident and has instructed me to tell the family she is very sorry.’
He added: ‘On the CCTV, you can see a woman who was not trained properly to deal with the situation she was faced with.’
‘This is a care company sending people to the homes of elderly and vulnerable people and putting them at risk of harm.
‘I want to speak about that so this doesn’t happen to anyone else. They tried to excuse it by saying she had only been there six days. But where were the checks and the training?’