A child prostitute who last week was given two health board minders to prevent him from going on to the streets at night, absconded from the residential home where he was staying.
The Dublin Children's Court was told that the 14-year-old boy left the home run by the Northern Area Health Board for four hours on Tuesday night. He returned at 12.15 a.m. yesterday but was caught breaking a window trying to get out at 2 a.m.
The boy was charged at the Children's Court last Thursday with solicitation .
Judge Mary Collins was told he had absconded regularly from the home and was spending his time on the street and that there was no bed for him in any of the board's detention centres.
After applying to the High Court, his solicitor was told that the health board had approved a plan for care staff to "shadow" him until Monday. It was expected that there would be a place in a care unit in the North.
The boy was remanded on bail on the solicitation charge to the residential home until June 26th. The case is due back in the High Court on May 29th.