A 16-year-old Dublin youth whose personality changed following a serious car accident in which he was a passenger has had his sentence for robbery and attempted robbery adjourned to June 19th next.
The youth was a passenger in March 1999 in a car driven by a staff member of St Laurence Industrial School, who was killed along with a juvenile in an accident. Judge Kieran O'Connor was told the youth had been progressing very well at St Laurence's until the accident, which had left him traumatised.
He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to several robberies and attempted robberies in the city centre. He is currently serving 17 months detention for other offences.
Mr Paddy Ormond, manager of the Eastern Health Board's Child Care Centre in Amien's Street, said the youth was placed there by his parents when he was nine because they had difficulty supervising him.