DPP directions sought for teenage girl facing 19 charges

A 13-year-old girl, who is facing 19 charges mostly for thefts, is to remain banned from Dublin city centre for a further six weeks.

At the Dublin Children’s Court today, Judge David Anderson remanded the girl on continuing conditional bail for a further six weeks for directions from the DPP to be obtained to determine whether the prosecution is to proceed due to her young age.

On December 16 last, the bail conditions had been imposed on the girl, who was accompanied to court by her mother. They stipulate that she must remain out of central Dublin and obey a curfew at her home, from 9pm to 8am.

The small girl, who is about five foot tall and originally from Romania, but now residing with her mother in west Dublin, had been remanded in custody to Oberstown Girls’ Centre earlier for psychological and psychiatric assessments to be carried out but was later released.

On December 3 last, she had been arrested for theft of a wallet from a bag, at Dublin’s Westmoreland Street within hours of a previous court appearance. On the following day she was again arrested for attempted theft, at Moore Street, in Dublin’s city centre.

Earlier in the case the girl’s mother had claimed she was unaware her daughter had been going into the city-centre. “I send her to school and I think she is going to school,” she had claimed.

Garda Fiona Devvy, one of the prosecuting gardaí, had said that “there is no parental control over her. She was in the city-centre every day during school hours”.

The young girl faces a total of 19 charges, six of which are not turning up to her court cases. The remaining charges related to thefts, attempted thefts and handling of stolen goods in Dublin city-centre between March and December 4 last.

Her charges: December 4: attempted theft, at Moore Street. December 3: theft at Westmoreland Street. November 24, theft at the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre. November 13, at Dunnes Stores, in the Ilac Shopping centre, theft of three packets of coffee and cosmetics worth €29. November 12, at Next, in the Jervis Street shopping centre, theft of clothing worth €93. November 11, theft of clothing worth €116. October 21, attempted theft at Dublin’s Haypenny Bridge. November 13, October 1, October 13, September 18, September 2, June 5, failed to attend her court cases. October 10, theft of clothes worth €42 from Dunnes Stores at Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre. September 12, attempted theft at Westmoreland Street. July 29, theft of clothing worth €262, from Arnotts on Henry Street. April 25, attempted theft at O’Connell Street Lower. March 27, possession of a stolen camera, and attempted theft at Westmoreland Street.