Teen’s case transferred to children’s court

A teenager charged over a house raid where a mother allegedly escaped by jumping out an upstairs window clutching her baby will not be tried at circuit court level, a judge has ruled.

The 16-year-old boy is one of two youths charged with burglary at an address in Tallaght on June 7 and has been refused bail by the Dublin Children’s Court.

Judge Deirdre Gearty accepted jurisdiction, meaning the case should not be sent forward to the circuit court. She directed the case be transferred to Tallaght’s Children’s Court. The case was adjourned for two weeks to allow for disclosure of prosecution evidence to the boy’s solicitor. The teenager has not yet entered a plea.

At an earlier stage he had been granted conditional bail with several strict conditions. He later skipped court and was picked up in Galway. He also breached the curfew condition on six occasions, resulting in his bail being revoked.

Garda Colin Hetherington told Judge Gearty it was alleged there was a riot outside the house. The defendant and another boy were allegedly seen going in and heading upstairs. One of the teens was allegedly seen smashing a bedroom front window.

The garda said it was alleged the woman “jumped out of the top bedroom of the house window with her baby”. She sprained her ankle but her 20-month-old child was unharmed.