A 27-yr-old Dublin man, whose identity is protected for legal reasons, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for neglecting to seek medical care for his girlfriend’s nine-month-old baby after noticing her injuries, reports Breaking News.
He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to wilfully ill-treating or neglecting the child by failing to obtain appropriate medical assistance in March 2024.
The child’s mother is still facing legal proceedings, reports Breaking News.
The man has prior convictions from the District Court for offenses including possession of knives, public order breaches, and criminal damage.
A medical report confirmed the baby’s injuries were non-accidental, revealing fractures to her arms and legs, bruising on her head, face, and body, and evidence of “historical injuries,” reports Breaking News.
Prosecutor Diana Stuart SC told Judge Martin Nolan that the State’s case rested on the man’s awareness of the child’s suffering and his failure to seek medical help.
A local detective informed Ms. Stuart that social workers had been involved with the child and her mother for some time when the accused began a relationship with the woman in February 2024, reports Breaking News.
A social worker visited the child’s home and instructed both the mother and the accused that he could not be left alone with the child without supervision until vetting forms were completed.
The social worker established a safety plan, and she believed the accused understood and agreed to it, reports Breaking News.
Social workers later learned that, despite the safety plan, the accused had started taking the child to creche alone.
The detective noted that creche staff reported the couple had gotten a dog for the baby, and concerns arose when scratches were observed on the baby’s face, reports Breaking News.
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Social workers attempted to visit the mother’s home, but despite believing the couple was present, no one answered the door.
Gardaí were later notified that on March 19, 2024, the child’s mother called emergency services to have the baby taken to hospital, reports Breaking News.
When gardaí visited the home to follow up, they found it in disarray, with no milk or food for the baby, a cot mattress stained with dried vomit, and the flat in general disorder.
The man told gardaí he went to bed at 9pm that night and the baby was in their cot. He claimed the baby woke unsettled at 4am, reports Breaking News.
He said he noticed bruising on the baby’s face when he woke at 7am to take her to creche.
The detective stated that the man provided conflicting accounts of the night’s events, but CCTV footage confirmed both he and the child’s mother were in the flat, reports Breaking News.
The detective agreed with defense counsel Damien Colgan SC that while the facial bruising was visible, other injuries were not immediately apparent.
She acknowledged that both the man and the child’s mother struggled with drug addictions. Mr. Colgan admitted his client “should have done something that he didn’t do – he did not get the medical attention he should have,” reports Breaking News.
He urged the court to consider his client’s guilty plea and cooperation with the garda investigation, noting that the man “got caught up” in the woman’s drug use.
Judge Nolan stated that the child, who was taken to hospital, had sustained significant injuries, with medical experts concluding she had “suffered intentional violence,” reports Breaking News.
He noted the man’s guilty plea was based on his failure to seek medical attention after noticing the child’s condition.
“This was a vulnerable child. It is the responsibility of appropriate adults to take care of children and in this case he failed to do so,” Judge Nolan said, reports Breaking News.
The judge acknowledged the plea’s value, stating that despite the gardaí’s thorough efforts, the case would have been challenging to prove.
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