Abusive Devon carer caught on film by suspicious family

Victor Hart had been found by his family to have extensive bruising

A Devon care home worker was caught abusing a 94-year-old resident with dementia after his family members installed a camera in his bedroom.

Footage showed Jinu Shaji lifting Victor Hart's legs in the air while he shouted for him to stop.

Mr Hart's family became suspicious after they noticed bruising on the victim's leg and installed a camera in July 2023.

Shaji, 26, of Exeter, was jailed for 12 months after admitting ill treatment.

Judge David Evans said there was "deliberate infliction of pain on someone who was helpless".

He said: "Throughout, you ignored Mr Hart's loud and distressing cries of pain. You displayed cruel unconcern.

"This was deliberate harm which was wholly unnecessary.

"It was repeated and prolonged ill treatment which was akin to an assault. It is clear from the recording that Mr Hart suffered significant pain over a prolonged period."

His granddaughter Helen Legg told the BBC her grandfather's dignity "had gone out the window when he was abused".

Victor Hart, who died in September 2023, with his late wife Sylvia

Mr Hart was in a care home after he had suffered a bleed on the brain following a fall down some stairs.

Ms Legg said he and his wife, Sylvia Hart, had "just wanted to be together" and she later moved into the same home.

Mrs Hart died in 2017 but Mr Hart remained in the home and until last summer, his family believed he was being well cared for.

The family said they were notified by the care home of "significant", unexplained bruising, which had been referred to Devon County Council's (DCC) safeguarding team.

Ms Legg said DCC opened and closed an investigation into her grandfather's care within half an hour, telling the care home it had "more serious cases to deal with".

It was this that prompted her to install the camera in July 2023, which she said was placed in plain view.

Care workers could be seen on the footage holding Mr Hart's legs over his head while he screamed for them to stop

The subsequent footage recorded Shaji holding Mr Hart's legs in the air and over his head, at one stage pulling them so far back his feet knocked the photos from a shelf behind his bed.

Mr Hart can be heard shouting and asking for the care worker to stop.

He was later found with severe bruising on his legs and thighs.

Ms Legg said: "I couldn't watch it with the sound because he was just screaming.

"There was just no care at all in how they treated him."

Victor Hart's family installed a camera in his room

While Shaji was sentenced to 12 months in jail, a colleague also seen in the recording was given a police caution.

Mr Hart died in September 2023, two months after the recordings were made.

The offences happened at Langford Park care home in Exeter, which has since been sold and now operates under new owners.

The BBC contacted the previous owner but received no response.

Helen Legg is campaigning for cameras to be placed in bedrooms in care homes

Ms Legg said: "Devon County Council were not happy at all that a camera had been placed in his room but without that camera, we wouldn't have the evidence."

She is now campaigning for the government to introduce new legislation that will allow cameras to be installed in bedrooms in care homes, to safeguard against abuse.

"I think there should be cameras in rooms in care homes to protect those that are vulnerable," she said.

"But it not only protects patients [residents] in the care homes, but it protects the carers - it works both ways."

A spokesperson for DCC said it would be reviewing the case to see how the initial communication with the family could have been improved.

It said the council took all safeguarding matters extremely seriously, and worked closely with the NHS, police, the Care Quality Commission and care providers to investigate all concerns regarding residents' safety.

The couple met when Mr Hart was evacuated to his future wife's family home in Devon during World War Two

The Department for Health and Social Care said abuse of any kind was "abhorrent".

It added: "Any use of surveillance must consider and protect the human rights, privacy and dignity of those it seeks to record and cannot be seen as the only way to ensure people are receiving safe and compassionate care."

Det Insp Charlotte Smith, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said after the case that the victim had been "failed by someone charged with their care".

She added: "We feel today's sentencing suitably reflects the severity of the offence."

Police also recognised the "proactive action of the family in helping bring the case to court".

She said: "We hope that they find some comfort by the fact that justice has been done."

Ms Legg said her grandfather had been a serious man who had loved his family.

"He worked hard for his family and he would give his last penny away to support his family," she said.

Follow BBC Devon on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].