Three former care workers at a day centre for vulnerable adults, who were charged with abusing and neglecting patients, have had their case transferred to Crown Court.
Benjamin Jenkins, Philip Sowden and Christine Keller, who were all employed at the John Daniel Centre in Heamoor, near Penzance, briefly appeared at Truro Magistrates' Court on Thursday for a committal hearing.
Jenkins, 22, of Penbeagle Crescent, St Ives, faces two counts of ill-treating and willfully neglecting a person without capacity.
One of those charges refers to an incident at the centre involving a male patient, and the other is alleged to have happened between Penzance and Stithians, in West Cornwall, involving a second male patient.
Sowden, 59, of Alverne Buildings, Penzance, faces two similar counts involving two male patients while Keller, 57, of High Lanes, Hayle, faces one similar charge against a female patient.
The charges they face cover a period from April 2007 through to December 2011. All three were released on conditional bail.
As part of their conditions they must not attend the centre or contact its staff or patients directly or indirectly.
They will reappear at the Truro Crown Court on June 7.
Charges were brought against the three when concerns were raised about the treatment of patients at the centre in November 2011.
