Dublin father jailed for nine years and two months over cruelty to six children

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

A 35-year-old Dublin man has been jailed for nine years and two months after pleading guilty to six counts of child cruelty involving his six children between 2016 and 2020. He cannot be named to protect the children’s anonymity.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the oldest boy was repeatedly locked in different places, including a functioning chest freezer, and that the man attempted to suffocate him and often held his head underwater in a bath. Gardaí and social workers described a filthy, cold home with rubbish, rodents, flies and faeces. The children were taken into care in January 2020, when they were aged between 10 months and eight years.

The oldest boy, now 13, delivered a victim impact statement by video-link. Statements for his siblings described physical, emotional and psychological effects, including difficulties with trust, food and school. The children are in three foster homes and are upset they do not live together.