17-year-old girl gets four months for attacking care worker

A troubled 17-year-old girl who, while armed with a scissors, attacked a care worker and threatened to “slit her throat right in the jugular”, was given a four-month sentence by Judge Bryan Smyth at the Dublin Children’s Court today.

Finalising the case, Judge Smyth urged the HSE and other agencies to give assistance to the girl, who had been residing in a non-secure care home, while she was in custody. He also said he hoped that support for the girl, who had asked to be sentenced, would be continued on her release early next year.

The proceedings had become drawn out because renovation work in the Oberstown Girls’ Centre, detention facility, in Dublin, had limited its number of spaces. As a result, on three previous occasions over recent weeks, she had to be given bail despite wanting to be detained.

Defence solicitor Ms Sarah Molloy said that the opportunities given to the girl by the court had been exhausted: “I understand there is a sentence bed available today.”

She asked the judge to take into consideration the girl’s difficult background. She said it was hoped that while in custody the HSE would provide therapy to the girl if so required, and would plan ahead to provide accommodation and assistance on her release. And she said it was hoped the detention centre would co-operate with the HSE in that regard.

Judge Smyth said that, after the girl turned 18 years, and reached adulthood, aftercare services would be at the discretion of the HSE, which he said was different to practices in the UK.

Noting numerous background and pre-sentencing reports as well as the nature of the attacks on the care workers, Judge Smyth detained the girl for four months.

He went on to say: “She is going to need a huge amount of support in Oberstown and especially when she gets out. I would hope that the various agencies will take on board what I have said.”

The girl had pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to a female care worker, on May 22 last year. She also admitted attacking another staff member in the same care home in north Dublin and possessing a scissors as a weapon, on January 31 last.

Her first charge arose when she was reprimanded for smoking in her bedroom in the care home. “She got out of her bed and punched the care worker on her left eye knocking her back where she banged her head off a table,” a garda had said.

During the second attack, a care worker was kicked by the girl, who then took a scissors and threatened another staff member that she would “slit her throat right in the jugular” before gardai arrived and disarmed her.

In July concerns were raised in court that the teenager had absconded 19 times. Over the following months she had broken bail conditions with aggressive behaviour to staff in the care home and by breaching a curfew.

The court has been told that the girl had some contact with her family, mostly siblings and a brother in law, who was present for the sentencing, along with social workers and care staff.

The girl remained silent during her sentence hearing. On October 21 last she addressed the court and said: “I would like to say that I understand the situation. I know doing what I am doing is getting nowhere. It’s a waste of everyone’s time.

“I should just bite the bullet and do what I have to do. I appreciate the fact that there is no bed in Oberstown today but I would like to say I recognise I’ve been disrespectful, I’m in a very bad place at the moment.”