A HSE safeguarding review has found that up to 21 residents may have been impacted by physical and sexual abuse at a HSE-run nursing home in Kildare where a Nigerian care assistant raped an elderly women.
An additional investigation by the HSE’s National Independent Review Panel (NIRP) found that “on the balance of probabilities” it was “highly likely” that convicted rapist Emmanuel Adeniji “assaulted other residents entrusted to his care.”
Adeniji was sentenced to 11 years in prison, with the final year suspended, in July 2020, for the rape of the 73-year old woman – given the pseudonym ‘Emily’ in the reports – who has been widely praised for her courage in speaking out and preventing harm to others.
According to the Sunday World, Adeniji “entered the country illegally” in 2000 from Nigeria, having failed to produce valid documentation. He later made an application for asylum, claiming that he had been the victim of religious persecution.
That claim was not fully investigated nor any decision made because in the interim Adeniji was granted residency on the basis of a claim to be the father of a child born in Ireland. He was made an Irish citizen in 2012.
The NIRP noted that Adeniji “was convicted of a single offence of rape of ‘Emily’ perpetrated on 3rd April 2020, but it is likely that this was not the only occasion that [he] sexually assaulted a female resident in the Nursing Home.”
It found that Adeniji was aware that most of the women in his care had dementia, memory loss or an existing mental health condition and that allegations of rape had either been dismissed or explained away as being due to a symptom of an underlying medical or psychiatric condition.
“He was therefore quite confident in the way he operated,” the review found.
The separate Safeguarding review separately found that nine other residents in the Nursing Home had alleged reportable incidents of sexual assault against Adeniji but none had been followed up.
The NIRP report says that the elderly woman “disclosed to An Garda Síochána in interview that this man had sexually assaulted her before the 3rd April 2020. She disclosed the same information to her psychiatrist, saying that Adeniji had sexually assaulted her previously, although she was unable to give precise dates.”
The woman’s family previously described how they were unable to comfort their mother by hugging her since the rape, and that she remained terrified that the rapist will return to her room.
“We always said we will dread the day she loses her memory but now one day we hope she wakes up and doesn’t remember,” her daughter told the court at the rape trial of Adeniji.
“This animal took that security away,” she said. “We will never forget how that man single-handedly destroyed our mam’s life.”
Now the NIRP say that their review team had access to a document which outlined allegations of sexual abuse by Adeniji of six other female residents.
In addition, the Community Healthcare Office (CHO) Safeguarding Team says it has found “reasonable grounds for concern” for 21 residents at the HSE-run nursing home regarding physical or sexual abuse.
The safeguarding team did not investigate any of these allegations and reportable incidents as this is outside their remit, they said. “All of these concerns were notified to the Gardaí.”
The NIRP said that the document outlining allegations of sexual abuse by Adeniji of six other female residents was completed retrospectively after his conviction.
NOT FOLLOWED UP
“These allegations against Mr Z [Adeniji] did not appear to be taken seriously or followed up to the same extent as the allegation made by Emily on the 3rd April 2020,” the report said.
“Only one of these allegations was reported to the Safeguarding and Protection Team (SPT) accompanied a medical rationale (dementia) for the complaint,” the NIRP review said.
When the Safeguarding and Protection Team followed up all of these allegations and others with a file review of each resident identified as a possible victim, they found “reports in files that nine other residents in the Nursing Home had alleged reportable incidents of sexual assault by Mr Z [Adeniji], none of which were followed up in accordance with the HSE safeguarding policy.”
Reports in files of two other residents who had reported physical abuse by the Nigerian healthcare assistant were also found.
“All eleven of these incidents have now been reported to An Garda Síochána in line with the HSE’s safeguarding policy and the residents’ families have been informed,” the NIRP review said.
However, they also noted that An Garda Síochána indicated that it is “highly unlikely that any further prosecutions will follow due to the fact that most of the alleged offences were committed against residents now deceased or residents who no longer have the capacity to make a formal complaint”.
“So, while it is not proven ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that Mr Z [Adeniji] committed offences in the Nursing Home other than the one he was convicted of, the NIRP review team believe that on the balance of probabilities it is highly likely that Mr Z has assaulted other residents entrusted to his care,” the review stated.
It found that because Adeniji had worked in the Nursing Home since 2004, he was “aware that most of the women in his care had dementia, memory loss or an existing mental health condition and that, previous allegations of rape had either been dismissed or explained within a medical model as a symptom of an underlying medical/psychiatric condition”.
CONFIDENT IN THE WAY HE OPERATED
“He was therefore quite confident in the way he operated. On the night of the 3rd April Mr Z [Adeniji] was able to easily elicit information from his colleague about her planned timetable and work plan and knew when he could carry out his assault,” the review found.
“He was also aware that the ‘floating’ HCA staff member was out on sick leave that evening and a replacement had not been found. He was not concerned that there were CCTV cameras on the corridors, nor that Emily might call out or ring the bell, as he was confident that due to the lay out of the building that no one else would hear her. He was also confident that if Emily did tell someone she would not be believed. After the rape he was able to continue working as normal with no signs of anything unusual which adds to the impression that this was not a one‐off incident and that he had confidence that he could perpetrate rape without fear of being caught,” it said.
Writing on the horrifying case last month, Matt Treacy observed that had ‘Emily’, who died in 2021, not lived until the trial in July 2020, Adeniji might never have been charged and convicted.
“It is recorded on the file of one resident, (now deceased) that she had informed a carer that she was ‘raped’ and that ‘no one believes me’,” he observed.
“It needs to be asked what consequences will be faced by those in authority in the home for their failure to properly investigate complaints of the most serious nature,” he wrote.
According to the report quoted by RTÉ: “Emily’s actions and sacrifice undoubtedly helped convict her rapist and saved other vulnerable women from his predatory behaviour.”
An inquiry ought to also perhaps examine the thoroughness of the vetting procedure that proceeded Adeniji’s employment by the nursing home. What we know of his having managed to establish himself as an Irish citizen merely highlights again the ridiculous ease with which even people whose claims for asylum were never verified can become “Irish.”
The apology on behalf of the HSE is simply not good enough. Nor is this morning’s expression of regret and promises of respect and support for the relatives of Adeniji’s victims from Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee.
It is too late for the victims whose final days were spent in a nursing home where they were prevented from meeting with their own families – under the care of a man who had come to Ireland illegally, and who had been allowed to likely ensure that the last days of elderly Irish women were spent in a living hell.
These dreadful reports and the revelations of the sickening sexual violence visited upon some of our vulnerable citizens must not be allowed to simply fade from the public consciousness. The courage of ‘Emily’ who likely saved others from the attacks that she endured demands no less.
Loading ...
How can this happen unseen and unsuspected.