Care home worker jailed for raping dementia sufferer

A care home worker who raped one dementia sufferer and sexually assaulted two others has been jailed for seven years.

Stephen Murray raped a 65-year-old woman and sexually abused two more Alzheimer’s sufferers aged 74 and 84. All his victims required round-the-clock care and relied upon him.

The court had previously heard the 44-year-old was caught naked from the waist down with his trousers at his ankles in the room of the rape victim. He later attempted suicide and admitted his guilt in a police interview.

Sentencing him at the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Turnbull said Murray was responsible for “truly shocking” abuse directed towards a group of “deeply vulnerable people”.

“You showed a shocking disregard for individuals who were in your care. It demonstrated a callous and outrageous breach of trust,” he said.

“It is obvious that only the imposition a very lengthy prison sentence will reflect the seriousness of your conduct.”

Lord Turnull also placed Murray on the sex offenders’ register and told him that the sentence would have been nine years if he had not pleaded guilty.

At a hearing last month, Murray, of Larkhall in Lanarkshire, pleaded guilty to rape and sexual assault charges at a care home between December 2010 and April 2012. The Lanarkshire home cannot be named for legal reasons.

The court previously heard that a female nightshift colleague went looking for Murray and found him standing at the bottom of the bed belonging to his victim, who was naked from the waist down.

An agitated Murray told his shocked colleague that his trousers had fallen down because the zip on his fly had broken but she telephoned the home’s manager, who contacted the police.

While waiting for the officers to arrive, he stabbed himself in the neck with a pair of scissors and told his colleagues: “I’m so ashamed, people will think I’m a pervert.”

Murray was detained overnight in hospital and had three stitches put in the wound. The next day he was interviewed at Hamilton police station and admitted the rape.

The court heard that the woman’s DNA was found on Murray’s underpants. He also admitted to officers sexually abusing his other two victims.

The court heard the women’s severe dementia made it impossible to assess the impact of Murray’s attacks, but their families were “shocked, disgusted, devastated by the offences”.

Murray had been employed as a carer since leaving school and had worked at the home for three years, mostly helping dementia patients.

Louise Arrol, defending, told the court that her client was a bullied loner he understood his actions were wrong and had displayed “genuine remorse”.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Sgt Robert Bryce from Strathclyde Police said: “We are especially grateful for the co-operation of the families in what was a very harrowing time for them.

“We hope that this admission of guilt will assist them in coming to terms with the effects of these despicable crimes.”