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Care worker who avoided prison for sexually assaulting vulnerable residents and posting video to facebook is jailed
Summary
Peter Hilliard, 54, of Tallaght, was convicted of sexually assaulting two vulnerable residents in a nursing home in Rathfarnham between February 2013 and June 2016. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. In June 2016 a colleague saw a Facebook video of Hilliard assaulting an elderly resident; Hilliard had recorded the assault with a mobile phone and uploaded the video, claiming he had only a few hours of sleep and had "mistakenly" posted it. He received an 18‑month suspended sentence from Judge Karen O'Connor on 24 October 2017. The Court of Appeal, hearing the case before Justices John Hedigan, George Birmingham and Alan Mahon, found the sentence "unduly lenient" and re‑sentenced him to 12 months imprisonment, with the final six months suspended. The victims were patients with profound intellectual disabilities, one with advanced dementia and the other with limited awareness of the assault.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Care worker who avoided prison for sexually assaulting vulnerable residents and posting video to facebook is jailed. Charges or matters: two counts of sexual assault at a nursing home in Rathfarnham, Dublin between February 2013 and June 2016. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- February 2013 Incident
- June 2016 Incident
- October 24, 2017 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2018-05-17 Publication
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: two counts of sexual assault at a nursing home in Rathfarnham, Dublin between February 2013 and June 2016 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: However, Hilliard was jailed for 12 months today after the Court of Appeal found his sentence "unduly lenient". Mr Justice Hedigan, who sat with Mr Justice George Birmingham and Mr Justice Alan Mahon, re-sentenced Hilliard to 18 months imprisonment with the final six months suspended.
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