Dublin man jailed for reckless endangerment and child cruelty

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

A Dublin man was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for reckless endangerment and child cruelty by Mr Justice David Keane at the Central Criminal Court on 20 October 2023. He cannot be named to protect the children’s identities.

He initially pleaded not guilty to 10 charges relating to his partner’s toddler and her brother. At the closing stages of the trial, he pleaded guilty to one count of reckless endangerment of the girl on dates between 29 March and 5 April 2018, and to two counts of child cruelty towards her and two towards her brother on 5 April 2018.

The judge said the reckless endangerment plea was entered on the basis that the man had left the girl in her mother’s care at the relevant time.

The Director of Public Prosecutions accepted the guilty pleas, bringing the trial to an end, and dropped the remaining charges, including rape and sexual assault.