Woman convicted of neglecting daughters now sees events through their eyes, court hears
A judge has said he needs time to consider before sentencing a woman who neglected her two young children for years while inviting men into their home to abuse drugs with her.
Judge Dermot Sheehan noted the woman (42) pleaded guilty to the offence of child neglect contrary to section 246(1) of the Children's Act 2001, and a probation report noted that she had accepted her guilt and was remorseful for the damage she had caused her children.
The
Cork Circuit Criminal Court
judge said he needs to consider these factors alongside the 'general issue of deterrence in terms of people who are in charge of children'.
The woman's senior counsel, Elizabeth O'Connell, asked for leniency for her client, who has rehabilitated herself.
READ MORE
'She now sees events through her daughters' eyes. She accepts she was not emotionally available for them and that she cannot give them back the years that they lost, but she has accepted her guilt, and she has expressed her remorse and her shame,' said Ms O'Connell.
One of the woman's daughters said she will always view her mother as a stranger because of how she neglected her and her younger sister in their Cork home between November 2021 and February 2023.
'I never thought I would be standing in a courtroom speaking about (how) the woman who gave birth to me destroyed my life. Mothers are supposed to love their children unconditionally, protect them, nurture them and guide them. My mother did none of those things,' the daughter said.
'I don't think people understand what it's like to grow up in a house where you never feel safe ... She chose drugs over me, strange men over me and violence over me.'
The woman sat and sobbed in the dock as the girl, who is entitled to anonymity under the Children's Act, told how she lived in fear of one of her mother's partners as she witnessed him punch his own mother almost unconscious in their kitchen and how he later assaulted her.
[
Masseur admits to sexually assaulting woman during massage at Co Cork hotel
Opens in new window
]
'The night he choked me to the ground. I didn't provoke him. I wasn't even fighting him. I was just trying to protect my little sister,' the daughter said.
The girl told how she began self-harming when just eight years old and later attempted suicide.
Judge Sheehan adjourned the matter until May 14th for finalisation.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
30-05-2025
- RTÉ News
Investigation into incident at Dublin city schoolyard
A teenager was arrested and a garda investigation is under way after an incident in a schoolyard in Dublin's south inner city this week. According to eyewitnesses, a teenage boy wielding a knife chased a man on to the grounds of St James's Primary School on Basin View lane in Dublin 8, and punched and threatened him, before being confronted by staff at the school who managed to get the boy out of the schoolyard. The teenager returned with an older woman a few minutes later and shouted obscenities at the man, who is a foreign national. He also shouted "Dublin 8 says no". Three weeks ago an encampment was set up close to the school on Basin View, by anti-immigration protesters who are objecting to the opening of a second IPAS centre on the lane. Under tricolours, protesters have hung a large banner which reads 'D8 says no'. This is the name those involved have given to their campaign. The encampment is close to two primary schools and one secondary school on the narrow city thoroughfare which is nestled between the new children's hospital and the Guinness complex. Signs have also been hung which say 'Keep our children safe'. The attack at the school took place shortly before 9pm on Wednesday morning and was witnessed by a number of children who had yet to enter the school building, as well as their parents. According to eyewitnesses the boy shouted about 'paedophiles' as he attacked the man. It is understood that the man was waiting outside the school as a friend who was with him dropped off his child. Gardaí, including the Armed Support Unit, attended the scene and the boy was arrested a short time later and detained before being released. An Garda Síochána said: "Gardaí attended the scene of an alleged assault and public order incident at Basin Street, Dublin 8 on Wednesday 28th May 2025 at approximately 8.45am. "A male youth was arrested in relation to the incident. He has since been released and a file will now be prepared for the Garda Youth Diversion Programme." Under the Children's Act it is for the Garda Youth Diversion Programme to decide whether or not the file should be sent on to the DPP for prosecution in the courts. Gardaí say their investigation is ongoing. The anti-immigration encampment is directly beside and facing the entrance to a second primary school, Canal Way Educate Together. It is outside a premises which is currently being converted into residential accommodation with a view to housing asylum seekers. An adjacent building already houses around 20 people seeking International Protection. Wednesday's attack follows rising tensions locally over recent weeks as a result of the encampment and concern as to its potential impact. Protest 'hijacked', locals say Locals say the protest was originally established by local parents who are opposed to a second Direct Provision centre opening on the lane and say the area has been neglected for too long and has very few services, but locals say this original protest has been "hijacked" by others with sinister motives. "The protest has been hijacked by people who are trying to stir up hate and racism and this [attack] is a direct result of their actions," one person told RTÉ News. "That innocent gentleman who was just waiting for another parent was attacked and could have been stabbed or badly injured," they added. Speaking about the encampment a parent said: "It's absolutely intimidating. There's dogs, there's drugs - you can smell the stench of weed. The whole thing is absolutely intimidating for children and families." Of the attack that took place in the schoolyard on Wednesday the parent said: "Everybody is rattled". Also on Wednesday, a number of local organisations, including Basin View's two primary schools, met to discuss their concerns about rising tensions. The meeting was arranged before the attack happened. On Thursday, the organisations jointly published a leaflet. The leaflet states: "We are concerned by the small minority who intimidate children, parents, teachers, and workers. We want this intimidation to stop we want to work with you to make it stop. "We are writing this because we care about the safety of our community and believe that misinformation, hate and violence have no place here. We believe everyone here deserves to be safe, no matter the color of their skin." Warning that what is happening is "hurting children", the leaflet says: "Fear, lies and panic spread very easily on social media, and lead to people being targeted based on the color of their skin."
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Irish Times
Mother pleads guilty to exposing her child to assault, ill-treatment and neglect
A woman whose former husband subjected their young daughter to a litany of sexual abuse, including rape on an almost daily basis, pleaded guilty at a Tuesday sitting of the Circuit Criminal Court to cruelty to a child, contrary to the Children's Act 1908. The offender, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty on an amended indictment before a jury at Castlebar Courthouse to two sample charges that she exposed her child to assault, ill-treatment and neglect in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to her health. The mother's ex-husband is currently serving an 18- year prison sentence for the offences. Garda Insp Thomasina McHale, responding to prosecuting counsel Patricia McLaughlin SC, told the court the investigation into the victim's mother was secondary to an extensive historical sexual abuse allegation involving the victim's father. READ MORE Insp McHale said the abuse against the victim occurred between 1988 and 2001, when she was aged between three and 16. 'It happened on a daily basis,' the officer stated. 'It happened in multiple rooms in the house, frequently in the bathroom, the sittingroom, her parents' bedroom, her bedroom, and in the car as well.' Defence counsel Desmond Dockery SC told the court the accused was pleading guilty to two counts, on a full facts basis, of wilfully exposing a child to ill-treatment in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury. Counsel added that she was not pleading to having knowledge of the depth, extent, depravity and nature of the abuse committed, although there were signs and reasons for her to suspect that her daughter had been subject to some inappropriate attention. Ms McLaughlin, prosecuting counsel, said it was not the prosecution case that the accused witnessed all of the actual acts that happened, but it was certainly the prosecution case that the acts were happening at such a frequency, in multiple rooms in the house on a daily basis, that she certainly knew something inappropriate was happening to her daughter. Remanding the accused on continuing bail, Judge Sinead McMullan put back sentencing until October for mention. The judge acceded to a request from Mr Dockery for psychological assessment for the accused as well a Probation Report, 'given the peculiar nature of the case', in the words of the senior counsel.
Sunday World
23-05-2025
- Sunday World
Man who sexually assaulted woman who went to view rental room in his house is jailed
'I genuinely didn't know what was going to happen to me, and the 11 or so minutes in that house alone with him felt like an eternity' A man who sexually assaulted a young woman who went to view his house after he advertised that he had a room to rent has been jailed for two years. Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that 36-year-old Leon O'Connor was suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness when he carried out the offending behaviour on December 29, 2021. Det Sgt Michelle O'Leary said that the injured party had responded to an advertisement for a room rental in a house. Mr O'Connor said that he was looking for a female tenant 'as they were easier to get on with' whilst he also indicated that he did not want a smoker or drinker. Dt Sgt O'Leary said that whilst setting up the viewing over the phone Mr O'Connor asked the woman if she was in a relationship. She thought that this was an 'unusual question.' She said that the woman was driven to the property by her brother. Mr O'Connor told the woman that he only wanted her to enter the property. He cited health concerns in relation to the pandemic for not allowing her brother in. Her brother waited in the car. The defendant invited her in to see the room for rent. She noticed a number of knives on the book case. Mr O'Connor closed the curtains and told her he was doing so to 'prevent a draft.' Dt Sgt O'Leary said the young woman 'felt uneasy.' Stock image News in 90 Seconds - May 23rd 'He touched her on a number of occasions going around the house. He touched her buttocks. She was afraid he had a weapon. He brushed his hand against her left breast. As they moved through the house she tried to remain calm. While showing her the room, he stood beside her. He caressed her vagina area. She was extremely frightened. She said she would need to speak to her brother before she decided (to rent the room). She went out and got in to the car and was shaking uncontrollably.' The young woman reported the matter to gardai. Dt Sgt O'Leary said that the injured party was frightened Mr O'Connor would 'lure other females to his house.' In a victim impact statement the young woman said that she lost her spark following the incident. 'I've been a shell of myself. As a result of what happened to me I lost my confidence, my mental health deteriorated massively, and subsequently my relationships failed, as I felt like I lost control of it. 'All this happened at my worst time. I was homeless, out of work, when people are supposed to be looking forward to a new year and new beginnings. 'What happened to me wasn't fair, and I didn't deserve to be put in that position. No one does. I didn't ask for it, and I didn't want it, but it did happen to me. I felt so scared that night. 'I genuinely didn't know what was going to happen to me, and the 11 or so minutes in that house alone with him felt like an eternity.' Judge Helen Boyle said that having read psychiatric reports it was accepted that there was 'ample evidence of a severe psychiatric illness'in the case. A jury previously found Mr O'Connor guilty of sexually assaulting the woman three times during the eleven minute visit. Judge Boyle said that there was no doubt that the woman was 'terrified' as she was being shown around the house. She described the young lady as a 'brave' person who was doing her best to get out of a bad situation in her own life when the offence occurred. 'I want to convey my admiration for her and wish her the best. I want to thank her.' Judge Boyle noted that Mr O'Connor, who has an address in Uam Var Drive, Bishopstown in Cork was a well educated man who had worked to a high level. She said that he had 'gone undiagnosed with psychiatric illness for a long time.' Judge Boyle said that the supportive family of the accused were doing their best to help him. Mr O'Connor was without previous convictions.
