Enfield care home guilty over 'predatory' resident's sex attacks

A judge at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court fined the care firm £300,000

A care home has been convicted and fined for failing to protect two vulnerable adults from a sexually predatory resident.

Hillgreen Care, in north London, was required to provide round-the-clock supervision because of the man's history of abuse allegations.

But he "moved unobserved" around the Enfield home, leading to a man and woman being abused, a judge found.

The now-insolvent home was fined £300,000.

It was also found guilty of two counts of failing to provide care and treatment in a safe way.

District Judge Susan Williams criticised the company for trying to "cover up" one of the sexual assaults.

'Opportunistic predator'

She said the offending resident, referred to as XX, posed a well-documented risk over more than 10 years under Hillgreen's care.

"There had been incident after incident involving XX, all incidents of sexual abuse," she said in a judgment in Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court.

"He was predatory in nature, he was opportunistic, and his targets were frequently vulnerable individuals.

"It seems obvious that unless he was monitored very closely and watched, such incidents were bound to happen again, and did on three occasions in 2015.

"It was alleged XX lured a young woman, referred to as AA, into his room and had sex with her and on another occasion had sex with a man, YY.

"What happened to YY is a stark and shocking reminder of exactly what could and did happen because of the failure in oversight of this company," Judge Williams said.

"He was unable to speak, unable to communicate, unable to call for help, unable to protest."

Hillgreen was not represented at Thursday's verdict and did not attend the trial, brought by the Care and Quality Commission.

The man had faced criminal charges in the past, but they were abandoned because he was not deemed fit to plead