Couple found guilty of neglect of 14-month-old girl

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A jury found a couple guilty of wilful neglect of a 14-month-old girl at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 15 December 2020.

The mother pleaded not guilty to wilful neglect and allowing her child to be harmed. Her partner pleaded not guilty to wilful assault, wilful neglect and assault causing harm. The charges concerned dates between 25 and 27 January 2016.

During the trial, Judge Martina Baxter directed not guilty verdicts on the two assault charges against the man and the charge of allowing the child to be harmed against the mother. The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on the two remaining neglect counts after just over an hour of deliberations.

The court heard that the girl sustained bruising to her head, face and body while the family stayed at a derelict house. The mother said the child had fallen from a mattress, but doctors considered the injuries inconsistent with that explanation and not accidental. The child was kept in hospital for observation and required no treatment.

The court heard that the mother also told gardaí the older children may have injured the baby while on a cot with her. The man gave the same explanation.

Judge Baxter allowed the couple to remain on bail and adjourned the case for mention on 11 January to check their cooperation with Probation Services ahead of sentencing the following March. Reporting restrictions protect the child’s identity.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.