Mother charged with child cruelty for allegedly abandoning her two children in taxi while she was drunk

A four-year-old boy and his toddler sister were abandoned in a taxi by their drunken mother, it was alleged today as she was prosecuted for child cruelty.

The 32-year-old woman appeared at an in-camera sitting of Cork District Court charged with two counts of child cruelty, contrary to The Children’s Act.

Sergeant Ann Marie Twomey outlined the allegations in the case so that Judge John King could decide whether or not he would accept jurisdiction to deal with the case at Cork District Court.

Sgt Twomey said it is alleged that the woman was in a taxi with her two children, aged 4 and 18 months, after 8pm on August 10, 2017. As a result of the defendant's drunken condition, the taxi driver required assistance from the gardaí so he pulled in to a local garda station.

Gardaí called an ambulance for the defendant as she was so drunk she was foaming at the mouth and her eyes were bloodshot. She agreed to go to hospital in the ambulance and her children went with her.

Gardaí contacted the defendant’s mother to attend the hospital to mind the children. However, upon arrival at the hospital, the defendant left the ambulance with her children without getting medical attention and got into a second taxi.

It was alleged that she later got out of this taxi, stumbled into her home and left the boy and girl in the taxi. The driver was so concerned that he brought the children to gardaí.

It was alleged that when questioned later, the mother said she knew she had left the children with a taxi driver but did not know which taxi driver.

Judge King said he would accept jurisdiction to deal with the case. It was adjourned until May 7.

It will now be a matter for the mother to decide if she is pleading guilty or not guilty.