'Cruel and violent' mother gets suspended jail term for neglect of her children

A “cruel, violent, pathetic” mother who subjected four of her children to “a horrific catalogue of abuse” for years has walked free from court.

Judge Gerald Keys told Ennis Circuit Court on Monday he could not see any benefit in jailing the 47-year-old woman.

Instead, Judge Keys imposed four three year suspended sentences on the mother to run concurrently for the cruelty and neglect of the children.

The woman pleaded guilty to ill-treating and neglecting the four children over a 30 month period between October 2012 and April 2015.

In evidence, a son who brought the abuse to the attention of the authorities said his mother made his life “a living hell” through years of physical and emotional abuse.

In his victim impact statement, he said: “I often thought about killing her”.

In evidence, the teen who informed the authorities said his first memory of the abuse suffered from his mother was her breaking a boat paddle when striking two of the children with it in around 2008.

In one incident in 2013, the teenager had a cast on his arm after breaking his arm while playing sports. The teen was out some time later playing with friends in the front lawn at home when the mother demanded that he do a handstand with his cast on.

He refused and she threatened that she would hit him with an electric cable if he didn’t. He refused and the mother then assaulted him with the electric cable.

Garda Kevin Duffy said that the teen did the handstand even though it caused him extreme pain and the boy said that his mother laughed at him when she saw the pain he was in.

In another incident, the mother chased her son out of the house at night with a coat-hanger and he was forced to sleep outdoors for the night on a trampoline with no cover as she had locked the doors of the house.

The teen said because of the mother’s neglect, the house was in a terrible state. It was vermin infested with bluebottles everywhere.

Another child in the family recalled to gardaí her mother hitting her so hard across the face that her palm was imprinted on her cheek.

In an interview with gardaí when asked to describe herself as a mother, the accused replied: “cruel, violent, pathetic, unhappy.”

Judge Keys said: “Child cruelty can’t be treated lightly by the courts and the sentence imposed by this court must be seen as a deterrent to others.”

He told the accused that “the children were young and vulnerable and relied on your love, protection, support, guidance - you failed to provide protection, love, support and guidance”.

He added: “You were in a position of trust that you abused and it was only when the authorities intervened that you sought help for your problems.”

He noted the accused was suffering from depression during the time of the cruelty and neglect of her children.

Judge Keys said a report on the accused noted she is “contrite for the emotional and physical pain, upset and upheaval that her actions have caused to her children”.She has lost the respect of her children and is now alone.

Currently, the woman is allowed supervised access with three of her children by TUSLA and only the youngest wishes to meet her.