Addict who threatened girl, 6, jailed for seven years

A 'crack cocaine' addict who held a syringe to a six-year-old girl sitting in the back-seat of a car, has been jailed for seven years by Judge Desmond Hogan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Anthony Clarke attacked little Louise Myron while two other young children, Jane Crawford, aged 7, and her cousin, Caroline Crawford, aged 11, looked on.

Clarke jumped into the back of a car containing Mrs Ann Crawford and the girls as they waited in traffic on Dominick Street, near the city centre. He ordered Mrs Crawford to drive on but when she refused he took out an uncapped syringe and held it to the arm of Louise Myron.

Detective Garda Joseph Enright told Mr Maurice Coffey BL, prosecuting, that Mrs Crawford shouted at him to get out and said she was not driving anywhere. Clarke then spotted a handbag beside the driver’s seat and grabbed a purse from it.

Clarke tried to get out the rear door but it was locked and Mrs Crawford got out her side and told Clarke to climb through the seat to get out. He kept waving the syringe as he made his escape towards Dominick St Flats after he called Mrs Crawford a "f****** c***".

Gardaí went to search for him at the flats and a young girl came running out in a distressed state while a man told officers that Clarke was hiding upstairs. He was arrested still in possession of the purse, which contained about €25 in cash and some credit cards.

Clarke, aged 31, from Thomas McDonagh Tower, Ballymun, pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery and two counts of threatening to injure with a syringe on August 7, 2003.

He also admitted the robbery of €1,500 from the AIB on O’Connell Street and again threatening to injure with a syringe on July 28, 2003. Clarke, who has 15 previous convictions, told gardaí that he spent that money on 'crack-cocaine' in the space of three days.

Judge Hogan suspended the last year of the sentence because he said Clarke had made some efforts while in custody to rid himself of his addiction.

He said the real aggravating factor was that a syringe was threatened to be used on a young girl and others.

"I have listened to Mrs Crawford and read the victim impact reports and I have no doubt that the commission of these offences has left long-term consequential effects, which hopefully in time will get better," said Judge Hogan.

Mrs Crawford said that when Clarke jumped into the car he pushed Louise up against a bicycle that was in the middle of the two young girls in the back. She said she was just in total shock.

"Louise was probably more effected than others. Louise and Jane were very young and they couldn't believe that a man could do this to them. Jane still has nightmares about this man breaking into our house and I’m very nervous about bringing the girls into town now," she said.

"We’ve become much more security aware at home but Jane worries about this man here, there and everywhere. I just think he should be taken off the streets," she added.

Mr Pieter Le Vert BL, for Clarke, said his client was a chronic 'crack-cocaine' user after moving on from heroin and had been in and out of custody for most of his life.

He told Mrs Crawford that Clarke was completely sorry for the ordeal he put her and the girls through, although that may be small comfort at this stage.

Mr Le Vert added that his client was unaware there was young children in the car and if he had realised this then he wouldn’t have jumped into the back.

He pleaded guilty at the earliest stage, fully cooperated with the gardaí and was genuinely remorseful for his actions.