A Dublin man (26) has been jailed for 21 months after pleading guilty to a charge of cruelty after he failed to seek medical help for a 9 month infant who had sustained “serious” injuries including bone fractures.
The man, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the infant victim, was in a relationship with the child mother at the time.
The mother has taken a Circuit Court trial date in respect of charges for assault causing serious harm contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.
Detective Garda Gráinne Collier of Pearse Street Garda station gave evidence before Judge Martin Nolan.
Diane Stuart SC, outlined how a social worker had become concerned when the child’s mother brought a new male partner, the accused, into the child’s life as the man had not undergone any of the relevant vetting.
The social worker made attempts to impress upon the couple that the man was “under no circumstances” to be left alone with the infant, which he was agreeable to while the mother became “quite frustrated”.
Early in March 2024, the social worker became aware that the couple had “got a dog for the baby” and that this animal in question was a “big” Staffordshire Terrier. She called to the house but got no answer.
Soon after this a worker at the creche the baby was connected with told her that there were “scratches” on the child’s face.
When the mother of the child phoned 999 in order to have the infant taken to hospital, a Detective Garda Heavey visited the home of the couple and observed that there was no carpet of flooring, that there was no baby food or milk, and that the sheets on the baby’s crib wee “dirty” and that the crib itself had dried vomit on it.
On this date the accused man was cautioned and said that he had come home from meeting his sister for pizza at around 9pm and that the child was “100%” when he had checked. He said that when an alarm went off at 7am, for the child to be taken to the creche, and that only then had he noticed some “bruising” on the infant’s face.
Detective Collier said that Gardaí had “heard a number of different stories” about how the child had sustained these marks, which the mother dismissed as “makeup”.
On the 3rd of April, Gardaí went to Temple Street Hospital where they spoke to Prof John FitzSimons who said that the injuries present were “non-accidental”.
The court heard that the child had suffered bruising to the head and face, a two breaks to the right arm, two brake to one leg, and a tear in the throat.
Evidence of historical fractures were also discovered.
Detective Collier said that both of accused and the child’s mother had attempted to cast blame on one another and that it was difficult to establish who had caused the injuries to the baby.
The accused, who was sentenced for cruelty for failure to seek help for the child has 21 previous convictions, including 2 for criminal damage, and 6 for possession of knives.
Detective Collier told the court that both of the parties involved had drug addiction issues and were on “a bit of everything”.
The accused claims that, when he became involved with the child’s mother, he did not know how profound her drug addiction was, and that the pair had ended up frequently “fighting and shouting at each other over drugs”.
Judge Nolan said that the accused, “should have done something that he didn’t do” and that the child had suffered “quite serious injuries” from “intentional violence”.
He noted that although the accused denies having caused harm to the child he was one of the only two adults the infant had contact with at the time.
“This was a vulnerable child,” he said adding that it is, “the responsibility of a reasonable adult to look after a child.”
Noting that the Gardaí had done “everything they can” with regard to the case, he sentenced the accused to 21 months in jail.
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