UK nurse jailed for helping himself to elderly dementia-patient’s cash | UK | News
A nurse has been jailed for helping herself to £6,500 belonging to an elderly dementia patient in her care. Rexy Reyes, who worked at Nottingham Queen’s Medical Center (QMC), was found guilty of two counts of theft during a three-day trial at Nottingham Crown Court. It took the jury five hours to reach its verdict.
The court heard the 52-year-old man, from Aspley, took the victim’s bank card from a locker to which he had the key and then reached the “maximum limit” of what he could withdraw from her account for 22 consecutive days. Nottinghamshire Live. The nephew of the deceased woman, who was in her 70s and has now died, explained in a statement how she “lost trust” in the healthcare system as a result.
Sentencing Reyes to 18 months in prison, Judge James Sampson said: “This was a brutal crime motivated by greed and carried out over a period of weeks. “You deliberately targeted your victim, an elderly dementia patient, based on his vulnerability.
“This was a breach of the public trust in nurses whose job it is to care for the most vulnerable.
“Your actions cause society to lose confidence in the nursing profession, and this is very important because this is a profession whose sole purpose is to provide care to those in need.
“There was no remorse and you heard about the impact it had on the victim’s family.”
Prosecutor Devni Kitulagoda told the jury the card was used at a hospital ATM that was not monitored by cameras for 22 consecutive days.
He said: “She was a woman with dementia who was admitted to QMC on January 24 because her condition was deteriorating.
“He was taken to a ward where the defendant worked as a nurse, and his belongings were locked in a locker accessible only to staff, not patients or families. Inside his wallet was a piece of paper with his PIN number written on it.”
Ms Kitulagoda explained that the theft was discovered on February 22, 2020, when the victim’s nephew, Mark Norman, checked his mail at his bungalow after being discharged to a rest home in Cotgrave. Acting at the request of his father, who had power of attorney, he opened a bank statement and saw multiple withdrawals.
The judge ordered the defendant, of Broxtowe Lane, to pay compensation of £6,450 to the victim’s family and prosecution costs of £4,380.
