A care home worker filmed herself pinching a vulnerable pensioner’s face and telling him: “I’ll gut you like a pig.”
Shannon Ashley Anderson targeted 79-year-old William Maguire as he lay in his bed, crawling across the floor of his room before startling him.
In a video clip shot on Anderson’s mobile phone, Mr Maguire looked visibly distressed as the care worker recorded herself growling the chilling threat.
Anderson, 26, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit a charge of ill-treating or wilfully neglecting Mr Maguire while he was in her care at Fodderty House care home, Dingwall, on September 22 of last year.
‘Biggest heartbreak was seeing how distressed our dad was’
Relatives of Mr Maguire were in court to see Anderson admit the charge and said afterwards they were horrified by the video.
His daughter Gabrielle Maguire said: “Our biggest heartbreak was seeing how distressed, fearful and terrified our dad was in that video.
“It has been made even more heartbreaking because two weeks ago our dad passed.
“The last thing we have seen of him is that video of somebody torturing him.”
Fiscal depute David Morton told the court that at the time of the offence Anderson was employed as a care assistant at the facility.
He said Mr Maguire was “a vulnerable adult” with vascular dementia who was disabled on the right-hand side of his body due to a stroke.
Disturbing video played in court
Mr Morton told Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald: “The circumstances are somewhat odd.
“During the course of a night shift, Miss Anderson has videoed herself using her mobile phone acting in the manner libelled – entering his room, crawling towards his bed and thereafter touching and pinching his face as indicated.”
The court heard that Anderson had sent the video via social media to another member of staff, who had alerted others.
Before playing the video to the court, Mr Morton said: “The video captures the nature of the charge and brings it to life in a way that my verbal narrative could not.”
In it, Anderson could be seen crawling along the floor into the elderly resident’s room, before startling him, pinching his face, and growling the threat.
Mr Morton told the sheriff: “It can be heard on the video, for the avoidance of doubt, ‘I’ll gut you like a pig’.”
Solicitor Graham Mann, for Anderson, told the court his client – who has no previous convictions – had “some medical issues” that may be pertinent and asked Sheriff MacDonald to call for presentencing reports.
The sheriff agreed and told Anderson, of West Drive, Dingwall: “It is an appalling offence. I have seen the video. I have absolutely no idea what was going on in your mind when you were doing that.
“You recorded yourself doing it, then shared it with someone else.
“I am looking at all sentencing options here.
“This is an offence perpetrated by you in a position of trust and care for an elderly person – for all those reasons this is a serious matter and the court will take it seriously.”
The case will call for sentencing next month.
Family’s reaction
Speaking after the plea, Gabrielle Maguire said: “He had the mindset of a child at the end, he couldn’t understand.
“She was in a position of trust and it is completely violating.”
Another of Mr Maguire’s daughters, Victoria Simcock, said: “We are all devastated because Serena and the team run the care home with such love.
”What we have seen from Fodderty was an immense amount of love and care of our dad from the carers that are still there.”
Referring to Anderson, she said: “This is one individual who should never, ever work with young people or elderly people.”
Serena Fergusson, the manager of Fodderty House care home, was also present in court for the guilty plea.
She said afterwards: “We were devastated for our resident and his family, because it happened, and it happened whilst in our care in our premises.
“Immediately it was brought to my attention the person concerned was suspended and consequentially dismissed. I alerted the Care Inspectorate and sought their guidance and support.
“I liaised with the family and we have dealt with this together.”