Teen charged with prostitution remanded into custody

A 17-year-old girl charged with prostitution was remanded back into custody yesterday after a court heard that she had tested positive for heroin use and had gone missing for nearly a week.

The Children’s Court heard this afternoon that she was located at an address in north Dublin City.

It had been believed that she had gone missing with her mother who is also being investigated over the prostitution allegations.

Last week she had absconded from the care home where the court had ordered her to live so that she could to receive specialised help for her problems.

Arresting garda Mathew McKenna told Judge Hugh O’Donnell that he had objections to bail on the grounds that there was a belief that she would be likely to re-offend and because she had been in breach of bail by absconding from the care home.

The girl, a chronic heroin addict, had been told that use of illegal drugs could result in bail being breached.

Garda McKenna told Judge O’Donnell that the girl had tested positive for heroin use three times after she had been released from custody. He also said that she had absconded from the care home and added that she needed to be placed into “a secure environment”.

Defence solicitor Ms Catherine Ghent said that she was instructed by the girl to apply for bail. She explained that the girl has many difficulties and had been trying her best to abide by the bail conditions.

Ms Ghent said that the girl had been granted bail on condition that she resided in a city centre care home where she was under the 24 hour supervision of care workers.

However, she said this had been difficult for the girl as the care home is located near a drug rehabilitation treatment centre and an area frequented by drug addicts.

“When she went outside the door people were constantly offering her drugs,” Ms Ghent said.

Ms Ghent said the girl wanted to be placed in another care home not so close to a drug treatment centre.

A representative for the Health Service Executive explained to the court that the care home that the girl had been residing in was the only one available at present.

Judge O’Donnell refused bail and remanded the girl, who was in tears, in custody until next week.

He also agreed to direct the health service executive to hold a case conference for the girl to examine possible alternative placements for her.

Her mother was not present during the case. Earlier the court had heard that the girl had been accompanied by her mother and little sister, aged six, when she was engaged in an act of prostitution in a laneway with a 50-year-old man.

Earlier the girl claimed her mother was protecting her when she was engaged in prostitution. “She was minding me, making sure I don’t get pregnant,” she had said.

The girl’s mother has also been arrested as part of the investigation and could be prosecuted for her involvement, the court has also heard.

When the teenager was released on bail she had been ordered to reside at the care home where she was to receive drug treatment as well as psychological and educational assistance from social workers. She was not allowed live with her mother.

She is charged under section 7 of the Criminal Law Sexual Offences Act for loitering in a public place with intent to solicit or importune another person for the purposes of prostitution, at Stoneybatter, D.7, on January 3.