Care worker who sexually assaulted a terminally ill cancer patient while giving her a bath is jailed for two-and-a-half years

• Aleem Dass took advantage of the woman as she lay helplessly on a bed
• He washed her with a flannel before touching her genitals inappropriately
• Dass denied the crime but he was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court
• Sentencing, Judge Stuart Rafferty said his behaviour was 'unforgivable'  

Jailed: Care worker Aleem Dass, pictured, was convicted of sexually assaulting a cancer patient

A care worker who sexually assaulted a 'defenceless' cancer patient while giving her a bath has been jailed for two and a half years.

Sick Aleem Dass, 46, took advantage of the woman as she lay helplessly on a bed in a Nottinghamshire nursing home.

He denied sexual assault but was convicted by a jury after a trial at Nottingham Crown Court.

Sentencing him, Judge Stuart Rafferty said: 'On clear evidence the jury has convicted you of sexually assaulting an utterly defenceless woman.

'I have no doubt that you thought that she suffered from dementia and because of that you were prepared to take the risk that you took; you being able to sexually assault her in a nursing home when people were close by.

'It would be nice to think that offences like that never happen but, sadly, they do, and people who do commit them can only receive one punishment.

'Why? Because people are entitled to be protected.

 She could not move, she closed her eyes, which you probably took as a fortunate development.

'You touched her in a wholly inappropriate way. But what you did in itself was bad enough. It wasn't just bad, it was unforgivable.

'She was a patient. She was in your care. People were paying you money to care for people like her.

She was vulnerable, she was afraid and wholly defenceless for those moments.'

The court heard how Dass assaulted the victim, who is in her 40s, when he went in to her room to clean her after she pushed a buzzer for help.

He asked if she wanted a bed bath and then removed her T-shirt leaving her lying half-naked on the bed.

The twisted carer then began washing her with a flannel and moved to her genitals where he sexually assaulted her.

The victim, who has advanced cancer, told police she then opened her eyes and thought Dass was trying to kiss her.

Dass was caught when the woman told one of his colleagues, he was then reported to the care home manager who called police.

The court heard how the agency worker had turned up for work on the day of the assault acting 'strangely'.

Prosecutor Jonathan Dee said he 'inappropriately' asked a co-worker out for a drink before he sexually assaulted the cancer patient.

He added: 'To those who don't know her (the victim), she gives the appearance of having dementia.'

Mr Dee said the victim was completely naked from the waist down when the incident took place.

He added: 'Two things were wrong about this.

'A. It was very quick. B. He should not have been doing it in the first place.'

The victim, who cannot be identified, told police what happened when Dass, who she didn't know, was alone with her in the room.

Dass gave a variety of accounts afterwards and claimed he 'only touched her face' as well as saying a colleague was in the room at all times.

Matthew Smith, defending, said Dass had worked in the care industry for some time without complaint and had never been in trouble before.

He added: 'On the complainant's own account, this was a short-lived, isolated incident, lasting about a minute.'

Dass, who showed no emotion as the guilty verdict was delivered, will also be barred from working with infirm people again.