Ross care worker convicted of assaulting autistic man
A ROSS-SHIRE care worker has been convicted of assaulting an autistic resident in a unit run by a charity.
Sheriff Margaret Neilson heard how sixty-one-year-old Leslie Poole dragged David Cole naked along a carpeted floor and barricaded him into his room by placing a brush against the door handle so he couldn’t get out.
The incident took place at a residential unit run by charity the Richmond Fellowship.
Poole was convicted after three days of evidence heard at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Poole denied assaulting Mr Cole on August 15, 2012, abducting and unlawfully securing him in his bedroom against his will.
He lodged special defences of self-defence and necessity claiming his actions were for the safety of Mr Cole, himself and residents and staff within the care home.
Sheriff Neilson told Poole after listening to the three days of evidence and considering all her notes she found him guilty of the assault but not of abduction.
Poole, of Ferry Brae, North Kessock was bailed to appear again on August 7 for the preparation of criminal justice social work reports.
The trial heard Poole, a former fabrication worker who had worked for the charity for three years, was aware Mr Cole had a history of violence towards staff and other residents at the home, which looks after people with learning difficulties, mental health problems and autism.
On the day of the offence, Poole had gone into a kitchen several times to ask Mr Cole, who was sitting naked on the floor, to put his clothes on.
But Mr Cole was becoming more and more irate towards staff.
The trial heard Mr Cole had broken one staff member’s nose and damaged property in the house and had assaulted Poole.
In his evidence, Poole said Mr Cole sat cross-legged on the floor.
"He’s either very nice or he just flips," Poole told the court today (Wednesday).
Poole said Mr Cole had been sitting in that position for over an hour and would not move or get dressed.
"When you see the aggression in his face he is going to kick off," said Poole. He said he feared that was what was going to happen that day and Mr Cole would be a danger to himself, staff and other residents.
Asked by depute fiscal Stewart Maciver if it was not the case he (Poole) ‘over-reacted and snapped’.
"I didn’t snap. My main focus was to get him into the bedroom to try and get him to calm down," said Poole.
Earlier the trial heard evidence from fellow care worker Penny Deverell who said when she confronted Poole about his actions he showed no sympathy for Mr Cole at all.
Mr Cole, who is in his 40s, was one of three residents in the unit and Ms Deverell (31), of Telford Road, Inverness, was his key worker. He suffered from severe learning disabilities and autism and required 24-hour care.
"For the most part, David is a lovely gentleman to work with," she said in her evidence. "But he does have episodes of challenging behaviour which can be quite severe."
On the 15th of August she arrived at work and came in through the back door to see Mr Cole sitting cross-legged on the kitchen floor with no clothes on.
She said hello and went to put her bag in room when she heard Mr Cole shout out "Shut your f---ing gob Les". He sounded quite aggressive.
"After that I saw Les coming down the hall dragging David by his right arm," the witness said. He was still cross-legged and one side of his body was dragging against the ground.
She said the accused dragged Mr Poole to his bedroom and left him there. "I was really shocked," she said. "It was the first time I had seen someone treat a service user that way. I thought it was completely inappropriate."
In his police interview, Poole told officers: "There was no way David was intended to get hurt, it was just to give him time to cool down.
"I don’t feel good about it, I felt terrible. It is something that happened in the spur of the moment so I will stand by my actions."
