'Out of control' girl admits 'vicious' attacks

Am “out of control” 16-year-old girl, has pleaded guilty to robbing two other girls who were beaten and had their hair pulled during “vicious” attacks.

She pleaded guilty at the Children's Court today to robbery of the two teenage girls, one of whom was aged 14, in Ballybrack in south Co. Dublin, on October 5 last year.

Garda Georgina Reilly told Judge Catherine Staines that a girl was being robbed by another person who tried to take her iPod. Her friend, another teen girl, stepped in to help her but was attacked by the defendant. “She grabbed her by her hair and punched her several times to the head,” Garda Reilly said.

Afterwards, that victim was brought by gardaí around the area to help locate the defendant who was found nearby. While the accused was being arrested, she broke free and hit the girl again with handcuffs.

The victim “lost some of her hair from being pulled and had bruises to her face and torso when she was kicked.”

The defendant, who has no prior criminal convictions, was brought to a garda station and made admissions.

While she was still held at a south Dublin station gardaí received a call from a mother reporting that her daughter (aged 14) had been also robbed and had her mobile phone taken. Gardaí rang the phone number and discovered that it was in the station having just been taken off the defendant.

The court heard that the 14-year-old girl had been attacked, threatened and had her hair pulled by the accused.

Judge Staines noted that there were new charges before he court over an incident on June 12 last in which she allegedly broke three windows at the home of a youth she had been associating with.

She also noted that this was in the early hours of the morning when the teen was supposed to be abiding by a curfew. The teen had also been ordered to stay away from the youth whom the court was told had been getting her into trouble.

After indicating that she would remand the girl in custody the teen's mother said that there had been an improvement in her daughter's behaviour and that the teen had stopped seeing the youth and abusing alcohol.

She also claimed that youth had been getting her girl involved in drug use which together with abusing alcohol made her daughter “just not her.”

Judge Staines said the girl was “completely out of control” and the “vicious” robberies “merit a custodial sentence” but that she was legally bound to seek a probation report before finalising the case.

She noted that the girl had not come to further garda attention since she had stopped associating with the youth and eventually agreed to grant bail.

She adjourned sentencing her for the robberies until September for a probation report to be obtained. Direction from the DPP are to be given to the court on the same date in relation to the alleged incident last month.

Judge Staines told the girl that she would be remanded in custody if she broke her bail conditions. The teen was warned that if she breached her curfew or consumed alcohol, the case would be brought back to court and she would be remanded in custody pending sentencing.