Gardaí are investigating an alleged assault on a child in a north Dublin creche last year by a former staff member.
The mother of the girl, who was three at the time of the incident, said her child’s arm was twisted several times and the former staff member asked the child not to tell anybody.
According to the family, who are originally from Brazil but now live in north Dublin, the incident occurred in relation to a dispute over a toy and happened in September of last year.
Following the incident, which the child’s parents were unaware of at the time, the young girl’s behaviour changed dramatically, her mother said.
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“She started becoming aggressive at home, hitting and swearing,” she said. “She was a different child and one day appeared with a purple bruise on her wrist that lasted for 15 days. When I questioned the school, no one could explain the reason.
“My daughter, who was already potty trained, started having frequent accidents and any emotional change causes her to wet herself.”
The parents have since decided to move the girl to a different creche.
It is understood that the staff member allegedly involved in the incident no longer works at this childcare facility.
The family said they brought their concerns to Tusla, the child and family agency, a month after the incident. They reported the incident to gardaí last July.
A spokesman for An Garda Síochána confirmed an investigation into an alleged assault in north Dublin was ongoing.
In communication with the family, investigating gardaí confirmed they had interviewed the former staff member last week, having initially experienced difficulty when trying to locate the person.
Asked about the incident, a spokesman for Tusla said: “You will appreciate that Tusla cannot comment on individual cases, to protect the privacy of the children and families we work with.
“When a child or family enters into a relationship with a public service such as Tusla they are entitled to expect that information generated in that relationship is treated in confidence and remains private,” a spokesman said.
“This is critically important in the subject matters with which Tusla is involved.”
The creche had not responded to a request for comment about the alleged incident at the time of publication.
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