Care home staff convicted of imprisoning disabled adults to punish or control them

Thirteen directors, managers and staff at two care homes have been found guilty of imprisoning disabled adults to punish or control them.

The "organised and systemic abuse" saw vulnerable residents left alone for hours on end with little food or water by managers and staff at the Devon homes.

Directors and staff were accused of creating a culture where residents were left in empty rooms more than 1,000 times.

They were left with with no heating, a toilet or furniture for hours at a time at the Veilstone care home in Bideford, and Gatooma, in Holsworthy.

Last year, 24 defendants were prosecuted during four trials at Bristol Crown Court.

Proceedings can now be reported after prosecutors offered no evidence against the final two accused.

It is thought to be the first time directors have been prosecuted alongside staff.

A total of 13 people were convicted of the abuse between 2010 and 2011.

Co-director Jolyon Marshall 42, was jailed for 28 months, his wife Rachel, 32, and several managers were also convicted.

Paul Hewitt, 71, the founder of Atlas Project Team, was convicted of a health and safety offence.

During the trials it was heard staff tried to correct residents' behaviour as if they would train an animal - something described by prosecutor Andrew Langdon QC as the "Atlas culture".

The rooms were known as either the 'garden room', or the 'quiet room'.

Passing sentence last year, Judge William Hart said the abuse became "a way of life - the norm, a habit."

He said although Atlas had an "impressive reputation", offering care to people with severe learning disabilities that others could not, at some point "the wrong turn was taken".

He concluded by saying: "Those two rooms cast a dark shadow over people's lives."

The abuse first came to light when one former resident contacted the watchdog, the Care Quality Commission in July 2011.

Police quickly became involved.

The CQC carried out unannounced inspections the following October, and two homes were later closed. Atlas has since gone into administration.

Mr Langdon added: "The prosecution say it was an insular world and it led to a culture of care that was in effect abusive.

Atlas was paid as much as £4,000 a week per resident, the court heard.

Gatooma had an income of nearly £700,000 a year, while Veilstone produced annual revenue of £1.2 million.

During the trial, some of the seven victims - who were only known by their initials of AF, AC, BP, LO, HI, JM and WB - gave evidence.

Seven defendants were acquitted, and prosecutors did not seek retrials against four others after the panel failed to reach verdicts.

Hewitt was described as a "respected figure" who was a qualified psychiatric nurse and behavioural therapist.

At the time he ran seven care homes in Devon and Berkshire. Hewitt sold Atlas for #3 million to his two sons and other directors in a management buyout in 2006 but continued to describe himself as the managing director.