Dublin couple face child cruelty trial after neighbours hear screams

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

A 39-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman faced charges concerning their young daughter at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 7 October 2021.

The pair pleaded not guilty to two charges of assault causing serious harm and three charges of child cruelty. The charges related to alleged events at the family home in Dublin between 28 June and 2 July 2019.

A neighbour told the trial that she had heard raised voices and sometimes screaming from the adjacent apartment over the two years up to July 2019. She assumed it was a woman’s voice and said the noise seemed to become more frequent before 2 July.

Under questioning by Patrick Gageby SC, who was defending the woman, the neighbour agreed that the screaming had generally begun two years earlier. She agreed that it was a sustained scream and that she had wondered whether there might be mental health issues.

The report said the parents could not be named to protect the child’s identity. The trial was continuing before Judge Martin Nolan and a jury.