A health care assistant has been acquitted of assaulting a resident at the Áras Attracta care centre in Co Mayo.
This afternoon at Castlebar District Court, a judge ruled that interaction between the care worker and a resident did not constitute an assault.
Anna Botsimbo was charged with assaulting a resident - known as Miss A - at Bungalow 3 at Áras Attracta in November 2014.
The case centred on video footage gathered by an undercover reporter for a documentary by the RTÉ Investigations Unit.
In court today, Ms Botsimbo denied she assaulted the resident and said her actions were intended to ensure Miss A did not injure herself.
Judge Aeneas McCarthy said that he watched the video and listened to the evidence carefully.
He said Ms Botsimbo certainly took Miss A by the hood on the date in question but she also eased her gently into a chair having put her arm around her.
The judge said what he saw in the video did not constitute an assault. He said he accepted Ms Botsimbo's explanation - she was fearful that the resident would bang her head on the table and acted accordingly.
In light of this, the evidence presented did not reach a threshold to convict the defendant and accordingly, he dismissed the matter.
After the verdict was delivered, Ms Botsimbo left the court. She declined to comment afterwards.
