Carer couple who threw 88-year-old woman around ‘like a sack of potatoes’ jailed
Viorel Constantin, 28, caught poking elderly woman’s nose and pulling her head from side to side
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Your support makes all the difference.A married couple who were caught on camera throwing an 88-year-old woman around "like a sack of potatoes" have been jailed for six months.
Viorel Constantin, 28, and Cristina-Alexandra Constantin, 26, were caught after the victim’s son set up a camera in her home after becoming concerned about the care she was receiving.
The couple, who worked for Midas Care, were prosecuted after he contacted the company and sent them the footage of the abuse.
Mr Constantin can be seen in the video poking the elderly woman’s nose and pulling her head from side to side.
Mrs Constantin watches on as the victim is manhandled and is seen failing to use a hoist to move the woman.
The victim’s son, who did not want to be identified, said: “I saw footage of supposed carers pulling and pushing her nose, having a laugh at her expense, saying things to her which she hears but can't respond to, ‘throwing’ her from one side of the bed to the other as if, as another carer put it, she were a sack of potatoes.”
The couple, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, pleaded guilty to wilfully neglecting a person without capacity at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 1 November.
They were sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay a total of £865 in fines.
“My mum is the most important person in my life,” the victim’s son added after the sentencing. “If I didn't care about her, I would have moved on in my life a long time ago and, maybe, she would now have been in a home.
“I wish no ill towards this couple, but it's good that this has now been recorded and they will no longer be able to work in the care industry.”
Detective Sergeant Mark Little, from the Adult Abuse Investigation and Safeguarding Unit, said: “Understandably the victim’s son was shocked and angry by what he saw.
“His mother does not have the capacity to look after herself and requires professional care. There is an expectation that your loved one will be properly looked after and cared for when putting their care in the hands of professionals, and sadly the Constantins fell below these expectations and let themselves and their contractors down.”