An autistic man who is unable to speak was discovered to be suffering abuse from his carer, as caught on a hidden camera installed by the family.
Pearline Baugh, 62, a mother of four, was responsible for caring for Peter Evans, 20, who has autism, epilepsy, and is non-verbal. Hired as a night carer to assist him with sleep, she instead subjected him to months of mistreatment.
Police shared footage revealing the extent of the abuse suffered by Peter at the hands of his carer. The footage depicted Baugh compelling Peter to stand still during the night while she sat vaping on a sofa and forcefully holding her hand over his mouth.
Peter’s mother, Louise Evans, 41, expressed her devastation upon witnessing the footage. She had hired Baugh to care for Peter downstairs while she rested upstairs in their family home in Bartley Green, Birmingham. Unbeknownst to her, her son was being mistreated under her roof.
Louise conveyed to Birmingham Live her heartbreak saying, “I trusted Pearline Baugh, and she became like a member of the family, but she was just a good actress. She is evil.”
Louise further added, “I’d had a security camera installed in my living room. Not to monitor the carer but to keep an eye on the boys if I needed to go into another room. Pearline was even aware of the camera – it wasn’t hidden away.
“She became like a family member and would say how she could ‘understand’ what I was going through and how she was there to help. But one day, last year, I happened to check back over the footage taken in the living room and I was horrified.
“I saw Pearline dragging Peter by his pyjamas, bending his body in half, pushing him onto the bed, and slapping him around the face. I was utterly heartbroken. And the more I looked at the videos, the more incidents unfolded.”
Birmingham Crown Court was informed that when Louise confronted Baugh, she denied the accusations and was asked to leave the house.
Louise provided the video footage to the authorities, leading to an investigation, Baugh’s subsequent arrest, and charges. She was sentenced to four months in jail after confessing to ill-treating an individual last month.
Lucinda Wilmott-Lascelles, representing Baugh, mentioned that Baugh struggled to accept her actions and was “shocked, mortified and disgusted with herself.”
Louise mentioned that her father has now taken over the night care duties, allowing her to rest without worrying about trusting a new carer.