UUP leader Jon Burrows says dementia photos woman got 'unduly lenient' sentence
UUP leader Jon Burrows is calling for a review of the community service given to a woman who shared degrading photos of dementia patients – saying she must face prison as a deterrent to others.
Ciara Corvan, who took degrading pictures of dementia patients and sent them on Snapchat, was given a probation order and 100 hours of community service.
The 28-year-old committed the offences while working as a healthcare assistant at a specialist ward for dementia patients at the Bluestone Unit at Craigavon Area Hospital.
Passing sentence at Craigavon Crown Court on Monday, Judge Patrick McGurgan said Corvan, from Armagh, had failed to treat patients in her care with the respect and dignity to which they were entitled.
Mr Burrows, a former senior PSNI officer, said the sentence handed down was “disgusting”.
He said he “welled up a little bit” after listening to the reaction from relatives of the victims who spoke to the media after sentencing.
“Because like many people my granny had dementia,” he said. “She was in a nursing home and every day you drove home you were so grateful for the care she got but you were also worried in case someone didn't look after her.”
He said there is nobody more vulnerable or voiceless than someone with dementia, who needs bathed and cared for.
“And we all need to know that for the most vulnerable in our society that anyone found responsible for that will go to prison. That is the message that needs to come out.”
But he told the ‘Nolan Show’ that the sentence handed down was not acceptable and that he was lodging an official complaint that it had been unduly lenient.
“I think it's appalling. I'm writing the director of public prosecutions today to see if we can explore the unduly lenient mechanism for this.”
This would see the director send the case to the Court of Appeal to ask if the sentence was unduly lenient.
“And I think that's really important because this is the first case of its kind. And it's important that we set the proper benchmark for this.
“I want everybody to know in our society that whilst the vast majority of people who look after our vulnerable people, do so in an exemplary way, that if anyone lays a finger on them, abuses them, degrades them, they face one thing – that's prison.
“I think that is so important. The public protection aspect of the justice system has to be, you know, clear. It's there to do a number of things. Yes, rehabilitate. That's important. Protect the public. Deter crime, and have an adequate punishment.”
A barrister for the defendant told the court she had written a letter of apology to the families.
After the sentencing hearing, the families affected said in a statement: “Our relatives were private, kind individuals who could not speak for themselves in their final years, and what was done to them was a gross violation of their basic human rights.
“While no sentence can undo the harm, we are grateful for the acknowledgement that this type of behaviour is indeed criminal conduct and that justice can be served against those who mock and torment the vulnerable.”