A man who abducted his young daughter, prompting a nationwide Child Safety Alert, has been sentenced to 4½ years in prison.
The 33-year-old previously pleaded guilty to intentionally taking his two-year-old from a health centre in Co Mayo on October 12th, 2021. He cannot be named in order to protect his daughter’s identity.
He later pleaded guilty at a Circuit Criminal Court sitting in Mayo to assault causing harm to his two nieces and to charges of assaulting a garda on December 1st, 2021.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that in December 2021, the man forced his way into his sister’s Co Mayo home in an attempt to take his child, whom she had been caring for at the time. He assaulted two of his nieces, then aged 19 and 23, during that incident.
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Passing sentence on Wednesday, Judge Martin Nolan said the man had behaved “disgracefully”. He accepted that the man had expressed remorse and that drink was causing him problems, but said the second set of offences had aggravated the entire situation.
“The abduction was bad enough, but when you appeared at your sister’s house, this court lost all sympathy for you,” said Judge Nolan.
Garda Derek Sweeney told Derek Cooney BL, prosecuting, that some years previously the man had gone to the UK where he met a woman and they had a daughter. They visited Mayo from the UK in mid-2021 to attend a family birthday party.
Mr Cooney said both parents had been “heavily involved in substance abuse” at the time and were “completely out of it” at this party.
About a week later, the toddler was brought to a local doctor who, the court heard, contacted Tusla raising concerns about the girl’s welfare. Following a formal complaint, an interim care order was made placing her in the care of a relative.
Both parents were given access to visit their daughter from time to time at a designated venue. It was on a scheduled visit at the health centre that the father arrived alone to see his daughter, bringing food and drinks for her.
The court heard that when the little girl arrived with her guardian, the man picked up his daughter, said “I’m really sorry” to the relative and carried the child to a waiting car. The child’s mother was driving the car and she took off at dangerous speed, counsel said.
A nationwide Child Rescue Alert was activated and broadcast widely on the media, leading gardaí to trace the man’s location via his phone to a hotel on Camden Street in Dublin. A receptionist working at Keaven’s Port Hotel came across the alert and identified the child with two adults who had checked in.
Garda Sweeney agreed with Dean Kelly SC, defending, that hotel staff said the child did not appear at all distressed.
Gardaí arrived at the hotel, removed the child and arrested her parents, who were interviewed several times and made full admissions. The court heard the man was polite and told gardaí: “I just wanted to spend time with my daughter.”
The court heard that the mother, a UK national, pleaded guilty to abduction but failed to turn up for her sentence and is now living in London. Mr Cooney said that some weeks after the abduction, the man attempted to abduct the child again from a house in Mayo.
Garda Sinead Chaney told Patrick Reynolds BL, prosecuting, that the man’s sister was caring for his child on December 1st, 2021, when there was a bang at the front door. When one of the occupants opened the door there was nobody there, but the family then heard knocking on the back windows.
The family barricaded themselves into various bedrooms before the man kicked the back door in and made his way into the house. He was roaring and shouting, threatening to burn down the house and saying that he only wanted to see his daughter.
His nieces met him on the landing and he assaulted them both, headbutting one and trying to choke her, while he struck the second girl in the face. The family managed to push him out of the house and called gardaí.
They could later hear him “smashing up” his sister’s car, Garda Chaney said. Gardaí later gave chase and had to use their batons and pepper spray on the man to arrest him.
While travelling to the Garda station, the man appeared to have a fit. Gardaí stopped the vehicle and when they opened the door, the man spat blood at one of them.
He made no comment during his interview with gardaí. There were no medical reports in court in relation to the injuries sustained by the man’s nieces, nor were there any victim impact reports.
Brian Storan BL, defending, said the accused man deeply regrets his behaviour and knows there was no justification for it.
Judge Nolan told the accused that it was up to him to “mend fences” with his daughter, his sister and his nieces.