A PREDATORY care worker has avoided jail after she grabbed an elderly dementia patient’s genitals while giving him a bath.
Donna Gillet, 43, asked the man if he ”liked women with big bums” during the shocking incident at Winsford Grange Care Home in Cheshire.
The healthcare assistant joked the 77-year old man had a ”big one” during the horrific incident in June 2023.
Gillet also asked the patient if he ”liked women with big bums” and when he said “yeah”, she allowed him to touch her bottom.
The mum-of-two then left the room, before making a comment about having just been “groped”, Chester Crown Court heard.
Gillet was later fired and reported to police after a horrified colleague told senior staff about the encounter.
She was subsequently charged with ”engaging in sexual activity with a mentally disordered male”.
The patient, who had dementia and Parkinson’s, has since passed away.
He had been living at Winsford Grange Care Home, which was recently rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission.
Prosecuting, Mr Philip Clemo told how the elderly patient required two assistants due to his health issues.
He told the court: ”He was immobile and lacked capacity.
“That day the defendant and a colleague Ellie Morrin were assigned to clean the man and put him in his pyjamas
”The defendant was vastly more experienced having done the job for about seven years.
“She asked the man if he liked women with big bums and he said ‘yeah’.”
Gillet then invited the elderly patient to touch her bum, before claiming she had been “groped”.
Mr Clemo added: “He then went to touch the defendant’s breasts but she said that he couldn’t do that.
“She said he could only touch her bum but not her breasts. She then allowed him to continue tapping her bum.
“When they left the room she made a comment about having just been ‘groped’.”
The court heard Ms Morrin reported what had happened to another colleague and police were alerted.
Mitigating for Gillet, defence counsel Myles Wilson said: “What happened on this date made no sense.
“It all happened in front of another care worker. She has since lost her job, a job that she enjoyed and has not found employment since.
“She just wants to put the case behind her.”
Judge Steven Everett slammed Gillet’s behaviour towards the dementia patient as “truly despicable”.
He said: ”This was wholly inappropriate and truly despicable behaviour upon a gentleman who was in the winter of his life, who was very ill and did not understand the ramifications of what was going on.
“You showed him no respect as he was entitled to his dignity or any care as you were a care worker and that compounded the many illnesses that he was suffering.
“The only fortunate feature is that you were in the presence of a care worker who did care. Happily you will be prevented from doing that in future.
“It is only right you should never be allowed to have vulnerable people in your care ever again.”
Gillet, of Winsford, Cheshire admitted the offence and was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for 18 months.
She was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activity.
Gillet was also made to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for seven years and was banned from working with children for the rest of her life.
