A CARE worker has been jailed for sexually assaulting three female colleagues at the Worcestershire care homes where he worked.
Basalinmon Mathai was imprisoned for 12 weeks after the court heard he assaulted the “vulnerable” women by restraining them and the women suffered “significant emotional suffering” as a result of the assaults.
Mathai, aged 41, of Poolbrook Road, Malvern, had pleaded not guilty to three charges of sexual assault on a female, but was found guilty following a trial.
Owen Beale, prosecuting at Worcester Magistrates' Court, said: “The first victim says she was getting her possessions from the lounge of the care home and the other night staff had left, leaving just her and Mathai.
“As she stood up she could see him behind her and he told her not to go. He took her by the arm, then held both her arms so she couldn’t move, looked to see if anyone was looking and tried to kiss her four or five times while she could not move or push him away.
“She was able to break free and complained to the management.
“Enquiries were then made if there had been any other instances, and another woman, at the same place of work, came forward.
“She said she was a new starter and he told her to sit by him, so he could explain procedures to her.
“While sat by her, he began to touch her ear and tried to carry on doing so a couple of time before she got away.
“On the following night, he came up to her and put his arm around her and tried to block her path past him.
“Both of these instances happened at the care home, where he was a more senior care worker due to a high staff turnover. Because of this he was trusted to show the new starters how things worked.
“At a different care home, while he was working as a kitchen porter, a woman said he had seemed over-friendly and made remarks about how pretty she was.
“When they were both in a kitchen she tried to pass him, but he grabbed her and tried to pull her towards him and leaned forward to try and kiss him. She managed to break free and reported it.”
Tim Gascoyne, defending, said: “This was mostly trying to kiss women.
“He came to this country with his wife from India, and she is studying to be a nurse. His wife was working at one of the care homes at the time he was too. He was a qualified nurse back in India and in the Middle East.
“His English is very poor. They are both here on student visas so employment opportunities are limited.
“He was more experienced than the women, and was showing them the ropes.
“He has no previous convictions at all.”
District Judge Nigel Cadbury said: “This case has three different incidents and three different victims.
“I accept the touching was not of the most serious, but there are aggravating features here in the persistence you have shown toward each woman and in the way you targeted them.
“If they weren’t classed as extremely vulnerable, then they were certainly vulnerable.
“I have the victims’ statements, and for two of these women it had a significant emotional impact on them and caused them significant emotional suffering. This had a negative strain on the relationships with their then partners.
“For these reasons I will impose a period of imprisonment but I will take into account that your English is very poor and you have no previous convictions.
“You will feel very isolated in prison because of your poor English and it will be hard for you, so I will make it a shorter sentence.”
He sentenced Mathai to 28 days in jail for each charge to run consecutively.
Mr Cadbury also ordered him to sign the sexual offence register for seven years.
After Mathai was escorted to the cells, Mr Gascoyne immediately lodged an appeal against the conviction.