To the outside world, these people seemed to be the perfect carers. Entrusted to look after society’s most vulnerable, they were allowed into homes to cook, clean and take care of their personal and often financial affairs.
Many of them were viewed as close friends or family, often being the only daily shred of company they can rely on.
But, behind closed doors, these evil carers were abusing the trust placed in them by families and taking advantage of those they were supposed to be looking after.
READ MORE:
One woman cashed in somebody’s Premium Bonds worth £20,000, another woman drew whiskers and offered dog biscuits to a woman with severe brain injuries; and one man barbarically raped a 99-year-old woman.
Each of their horrific crimes went undetected, until others bravely came forward and brought them to justice. Here the Manchester Evening News looks back over the cases that appeared before our courts.
Debra Ralph
Debra Ralph was looking after a woman at the Agricola House in Tottington, Bury. The home offers one-to-one care for adults with severe brain injuries.
However, during one incident on July 10 last year, Ralph, 54, had a woman on her knees in the car, which she drove backwards and forwards. She then drew whiskers on her cheeks and made the tip of her nose black with a pen before offering her dog biscuits.
The woman was said to have a mental age of four. Ralph was in a "position of responsibility" for this particularly vulnerable woman. She required one-to-one care and by doing this Ralph "breached her position of trust as a carer in a caring role".
Other members of staff raised "immediate concern" over this behaviour as it was "unmistakably inappropriate in nature", a court heard.
Ralph, of Ellesmere Road, Bolton, was handed a 12- week sentence suspended for 18 months in July. She was also ordered to do 180 hours unpaid work with 20 days of rehabilitation.
She has since been struck off after what the judge described as "wilful abuse".
Joanne Whalen
Shameless care home boss Joanne Whalen stole thousands of pounds meant for elderly residents. She was unmasked as a thief by junior staff after they had to use their own paltry pay packets to buy toiletries and clothing for victims.
Whalen, 51, is feared to have pocketed up to £25,000 over a three year period at the expense of frail and confused older people - many of whom had dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.
The mother of three was only found out after a care assistant on the minimum wage confided in a director at the Firs Hall Care Home in Failsworth near Oldham. Along with fellow junior colleagues, she said she had been using their own money to buy bath products, clothing and cigarettes for the residents as they noticed they were going without.
It emerged one man paid £21,966 pounds in cash to Whalen, of Droylsden Road, Manchester, over the course of a year in the mistaken belief it was for his elderly father's care fees. He then received legal letters wrongly warning him he was in arrears and that bailiffs had been summoned to reclaim goods from his home.
He was only able to prove he had paid as he had kept receipts from the money he handed over. At Minshull Street Crown Court , Whalen of Newton Heath, Manchester was branded 'despicable' by a judge who jailed her for 18 months in July after she admitted theft and fraud by abuse of position.
Michelle Summerhill
Michelle Summerhill secretly stole £30,000 from a man she was caring for. The family of Marcel Brown said he was so devastated that he ‘gave up living’ after her vile crimes were revealed.
Summerhill, from Wythenshawe, was secretly withdrawing cash from Mr Brown's bank accounts while he paid her to act as a carer, helping with cleaning and doing his shopping. One bank account had a balance of just four pence after Summerhill had raided it.
Summerhill, 55, even posed as Mr Brown's daughter to cash in his £20,000 premium bonds. She was left £10,000 in his will after he died aged 88, such was the regard he had for her.
Efforts were made to change his will after her deception was uncovered, but it was too late and she received the sum.
Mr Brown, who was originally born in France and lived alone in Wythenshawe, didn't have children of his own but he treated Summerhill like his own daughter. Her betrayal left him devastated and embarrassed, his family say.
"He gave up living," Mr Brown's stepson Michael Deasey told the M.E.N, after Summerhill, of Milburn Avenue, was jailed for 10 months for theft in March.
"He died within 12 months. He just couldn't believe what she had done, after what he had done for her."
She claimed that her obsessive compulsive disorder was linked to her crimes, and that she couldn't stop spending. But a report on her mental health stated she was not suffering from a disorder that prevented her from changing her ways.
In March, Summerhill, of Milburn Avenue, Wythenshawe, eventually pleaded guilty to theft and has now been locked up. She will serve half of her 10 month sentence in prison.
Cheryl Stringer
Fraudster Cheryl Stringer stole from a terminally-ill woman she was supposed to be caring for - and has been ordered to pay her family more than £25,000 or face more time in prison.
Stringer, 54, defrauded Anne Blackham, then aged 82, buying a new oven, a tumble dryer, candles, jewellery, clothing and a tablet. She also had new carpets and curtains put in at home.
The fraud took place between November 2020 and January 2021, when Stringer was one of four members of staff supposed to be looking after Mrs Blackham at a Stockport care home.
Mrs Blackham had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, having moved to the home in December 2019. She passed away on January 31, 2021.
Last November, Stringer was sentenced to two years for dishonestly making false representations to make gain in November.
Recorder Timothy Hannan QC described the case as 'an appalling case of cynical greed'. He said Stringer had stolen money from her victim at the rate of nearly £2,500 a week.
During a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Minshull Street Crown Court in January, judge John Edwards ordered Stringer to repay more than £25,000 to Mrs Blackham's estate - the amount taken, plus interest. Stringer, of Woodstock Crescent, Woodley, Stockport, was warned that a six-month prison sentence would be imposed if she defaulted on the payments.
Philip Carey
The family of a 99-year-old woman watched in horror on a hidden camera as she was raped by her carer. Philip Carey was caught on a camera installed by the victim’s concerned family, who noticed her behaviour had changed.
The woman, who suffered from dementia, was living in a Blackpool care home and stopped letting her relatives touch her and begged them not to leave, warning “they will hurt me”, LancsLive reports .
They placed the camera in her room and saw Carey, 48, walk into her room and rape her. They called the police and Carey was arrested.
He was presented with forensic evidence as well as the camera footage and pleaded guilty to rape, sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice and sexual activity in the presence of a person with a mental disorder by a care worker, at a hearing at Preston Crown Court.
In February he was handed a life sentence and will serve at least 10 years before becoming eligible for release.
Sophie Rozdolskyj, Senior Crown Prosecutor with CPS North West’s Rape and Serious Sexual Offence Unit said: “Carey abused his position of trust and targeted a vulnerable woman whom he should have been caring for.
“I am grateful to the victim’s family who have shown great strength throughout the Court proceedings. I hope today’s sentence provides them with some comfort, knowing Carey has been brought to justice for his actions.”
DI Chris Naidu, of Lancashire Constabulary, said: "Carey worked in a position of trust which he abused in the most despicable way.
"We welcome the sentence which reflects the seriousness of his crime and we commend the victim and her family for their dignity and strength throughout the investigation and court case.”
Read more of today's top stories here
Read next:
