Judge strikes out prostitution case against tragic teen

A prosecution against a young woman, who was arrested for allegedly engaging in prostitution while her mother and six-year-old sister were present, was today struck out by a judge, who described the case as "one of the saddest I have dealt with".

The now 19-year-old defendant, a recovering heroin addict, had been charged at the Dublin Children’s Court 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, D7, on January 3, 2005.