Addict hit baby while coming down from heroin, court hears

An addict repeatedly hit a nine-month-old baby because it started crying while she was coming down from heroin in the bathrooms of a chipper, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.

The 25-year-old woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, initially told gardaí she could not remember how the child suffered its injuries because she was “stoned out of it”. She later admitted she “hit her a few slaps” adding that “babies bruise easily”.

The baby spent a week in hospital being treated for bruising and haemorrhages across her face and body and a haemorrhage to her eye. The court heard she is now in a stable foster home and is a happy and healthy child.

The child’s mother left her in the woman’s care for several days even though the last time she cared for a child “didn’t work out too well”. The mother was also aware the woman was a chronic heroin addict.

The woman pleaded guilty to assaulting and causing unnecessary suffering to a child in her care between May 1, 2007 and May 4, 2007.

The court heard the woman evaded arrest for nearly two years after the assault and has taken nearly 30 warrants in the past. She has 41 previous convictions.

Judge Katherine Delahunt adjourned finalisation of sentence until next March and denied an application to release the women on bail.

A detective sergeant told prosecuting counsel, Mr Ronan Kennedy BL, that the woman arrived at a drug treatment centre to pick up her methadone with the baby in her arms. A social worker there noticed bruising to the baby’s face.

When she was questioned she said he had not noticed the injuries. She claimed she had been minding the child for a few hours while the mother went shopping, however it was later established that the child had been with her for three or four days.

The social worker decided to bring the baby to a hospital and a doctor there determined the injuries were non-accidental. She had facial bruising consistent with being gripped by an adult hand and fingerprint bruising across its body which could not have been caused by siblings playing with the child.

When the father was informed of the incident a week later he said he was unhappy the child had been left in her care because she was a heroin addict. He said the last time she cared for one of their children “didn’t work out too well”.

The child spent six days in hospital before being released into the care of a social worker. An investigation was started but gardaí could not track down the woman. They eventually found her two years later in The Dochas Centre where she being detained on another charge.

She told gardaí she had been expecting them and made admissions during interview. She said she was in the toilet of a fast food restaurant taking heroin and was “dying sick” because she could not get any “buzz” off the drugs.

She said the baby woke up and started crying so she hit her across the face about three times. She said she was sorry and did not mean to hurt the child but that “babies bruise easily”.

The baby’s mother was asked to provide a victim impact report to the court but refused to co-operate.

Defence counsel, Ms Marie Torrens BL, said her client was the mother of two children herself and that these are both in state care. The detective sergeant said she came from a large family which had “a lot of problems”.