A Nigerian national who previously worked as a care worker has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a string of burglaries and robberies that targeted elderly and disabled people in Liverpool, including some he had looked after.
Ediongseyene Essien appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, 28 August, where he received three years for burglary and five years for robbery, to run consecutively. As a foreign national he is expected to serve 30 per cent of the term before being deported. A restraining order was also imposed to protect his six victims.
Essien’s employment as a carer ended on 9 March after his employers suspended him over theft allegations. The following day he carried out four burglaries in the L6 area, focusing on vulnerable people he had previously supported.
In the first incident he stole a bank card from a blind man and used it for several local transactions. He later entered another property and went into the bedroom of an elderly resident, though nothing is believed to have been taken. That evening he entered the home of a severely disabled person (again nothing appears to have been stolen) and, at about 9pm, smashed the rear patio door of an elderly couple’s house, walked into their living room and stole a wallet containing cash while they watched.
He was arrested on 16 March and released on conditional bail. On 15 May he committed two further offences. At approximately 2.20pm he forced his way into the home of a vulnerable man with multiple health conditions and took cash from the living room. Around 5pm he approached a woman using a walking stick in the Fairfield area, grabbed her handbag and stole cash and bank cards. He was arrested two days later, charged with the robbery offences and remanded in custody.
Detective Inspector Kevin O’Rourke of Merseyside Police described the crimes as “reprehensible,” noting that some victims had previously been under Essien’s care.
“Essien committed a series of reprehensible burglary and robbery offences against people he had previously cared for, and other vulnerable victims,” O’Rourke said. “It is frankly beyond comprehension for someone with this job to go on and target those same people, and then push and grab other elderly and unwell victims in his desperation for money.”
He added that the victims had suffered considerable distress and that the sentence would hopefully bring them some comfort. O’Rourke also underlined the value of CCTV and doorbell cameras in identifying suspects and urged the public to report relevant footage to police.
Essien will serve the bulk of his sentence in custody before deportation proceedings begin. The restraining order remains in force to protect the six people he targeted.
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