In 2026, the Offender Database recorded that two professional carers—Debora Nelson Simoes Nunes-Filho of Bournemouth and Katie Clark of Poole—were sentenced for the “calculated” neglect of a vulnerable eight-year-old boy. The pair appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court on 27 November 2020 for the ill-treatment and neglect of a child in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering. It was reported that the investigation established the carers, employed for “wake-in-night” care, repeatedly abandoned the child to sleep or watch television, even as his life-saving medical monitors were disabled.
The investigation established that the victim required round-the-clock monitoring for a rare syndrome involving breathing difficulties and pain relief. The prosecution reported that Nunes-Filho and Clark were strictly forbidden from sleeping or leaving the child unsupervised while he was awake. However, CCTV footage recorded by the family revealed that during one six-hour shift, Nunes-Filho was only in the child’s room for 33 minutes, while Clark was seen turning off alarms and leaving the boy unsupervised to go into the garden for a cigarette.
Judicial Findings and Investigative Detail
The court reported that both defendants engaged in “deliberate dishonesty” by falsifying observation charts. The investigation established that even when medical monitors were turned off or detached, the carers recorded oxygen (SATS) levels that they could not have possibly known. The prosecution reported that Clark failed to reattach a monitor after an alarm sounded, while Nunes-Filho was seen asleep on a sofa for hours, leaving the boy in a state of high medical risk.
Judge-led proceedings at Bournemouth Crown Court concluded with both women being sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for 18 months. For their actions in Dorset and the “breathtaking” breach of professional trust reported, they were also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community. The judge noted that the care package was designed to allow a mother to sleep safely, a trust that was “systematically betrayed” by the very people employed to protect her son’s life.
Status and Statutory Requirements
For the records reported in Dorset and across the South Coast, the status of the offenders as of April 11, 2026, was as follows:
- Debora Nunes-Filho (36): SUSPENDED SENTENCE (2-year sentence suspended for 18 months in 2020; period concluded).
- Katie Clark (43): SUSPENDED SENTENCE (2-year sentence suspended for 18 months in 2020; period concluded).
- Community Service: 200 hours of unpaid work completed by both parties.
- Professional Status: Permanently STRUCK OFF (Removed from all healthcare and social care registers).
- DBS Status: Placed on the Barring List (Indefinite ban on working with children or vulnerable adults).
- Legal Status: CONVICTED (Assaulting, ill-treating, or neglecting a child).
- Judicial Oversight: Sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court; investigated by Dorset Police.
- Criminal Record: Failed to monitor a child with breathing difficulties; Disabled medical alarms; Falsified medical observation charts; Left a vulnerable child unsupervised to sleep or smoke.
- Origin: Bournemouth and Poole, Dorset.
Monitoring and Public Protection
Both women are permanently barred from the care sector. Due to the nature of their conduct—specifically their “intentional falsification of medical records and abandonment of a child with life-limiting conditions”—their details are flagged on the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) database. Authorities state that their history identifies them as individuals who lack the integrity required for any role involving the safety of others, ensuring that they can never again be employed in a position of trust involving children or the elderly.
As convicted offenders, their details were logged following a multi-agency strategy meeting involving Dorset Police and social services. Authorities state that the CCTV evidence provided the “irrefutable” proof needed to secure justice for the family. Any attempt by Nunes-Filho or Clark to bypass employment background checks or seek work in the care industry will result in immediate intervention to ensure the ongoing safety of the public from individuals who demonstrated a “gross and dangerous indifference” to a child’s life.
QUESTION – Given that the carers “falsified medical charts” while the child’s life-saving equipment was turned off, do you believe that “Deliberate Dishonesty in Medical Records” should carry a mandatory minimum 5-year immediate custodial sentence to reflect the potentially fatal consequences of such neglect?
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