A healthcare assistant in the United Kingdom, Nelson Ncube, has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for engaging in sexual activity with a vulnerable patient under his care at a secure mental health unit in Colchester.
Ncube, 57, of Gratian Close, Highwoods, Colchester, appeared before Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder while acting as a care worker.
The offences occurred between late 2020 and early 2023 at a Colchester mental health hospital, where Ncube was assigned to care for the victim, a woman detained under the Mental Health Act and described as acutely unwell during the period of abuse.
The court heard that Ncube took advantage of blind spots in the hospital’s surveillance system, including storage areas and patient toilets, to carry out the offences.
Prosecutors said the abuse began with inappropriate physical contact and escalated to sexual acts, including the exchange of explicit photographs.
In a moving victim impact statement, the woman confronted Ncube in court, saying: “How dare you. Very often you were part of the team restraining me. It must have been very clear to you I was intensely unwell.”
Judge Richard Kelly, while passing judgment, said Ncube had displayed “a warped sense of responsibility” for attempting to blame the victim, despite her vulnerable state.
Ncube, who was previously of good character, expressed remorse through his lawyer, saying he felt “nothing but shame and guilt” for his actions.
