Members of the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court were this week left shocked by the account of a 13-year-old girl severely neglected by her mother.
According to a report by Independent.ie, Judge Patrick McCartan was ‘heartbroken’ upon hearing how, at just nine years of age, the girl had lived in squalor and once resorted to eating fish food to stave off the hunger.
The court heard that the child’s mother, a 53-year-old Lithuanian woman, suffered with alcohol addiction and would often leave her alone at home for days on end.
The then-nine-year-old ended up living in filth, with no company except for a pet dog, and missing school. She admitted to often feeling lonely and scared as a result of her mother’s absence and erratic behaviour.
Eventually, it was a neighbour who intervened and encouraged the child to come over to his house. He and his partner were said to have been horrified by the child’s hunger and dishevelled appearance.
Upon hearing the child’s victim impact statement, Judge Patrick McCartan condemned the mother for her ‘utter neglect of the needs of a young child’.
The mother, who pleaded guilty to child cruelty, was sentenced to two years in jail.
Our hearts go out to this little girl; we truly hope she is getting the support she needs.
