A 16-year-old girl pretended to be a Christmas carol singer in a bid to force an elderly Dublin woman to hand over money, a court has heard.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was remanded on bail pending sentencing by Judge John O’Connor at Dublin Children’s Court .
The girl, who was accompanied to court by her lawyer and an aunt, pleaded guilty to a charge of trespassing causing fear at the woman’s home in Park Villa in Castleknock on December 21st last.
Garda Patricia Davey told the judge that the girl knocked at the front door of a woman who is in her late seventies.
“She claimed she was carol singing,” Ms Davey said.
Ms Davey said that the girl then started shouting “give me the money” at the woman.
The girl was said to have been unaware that someone else was in the house at the time, and was chased away by that person.
The teenager was arrested and brought to Blanchardstown Garda station. While at the station she claimed she felt unwell and “attempted to make herself sick”, after which she was brought to hospital.
Defence request
Defence solicitor Michelle Finan said the girl knows her offence was dreadful asked the judge to note that the girl had pleaded guilty, with Ms Davey being informed of this in advance.
The defence lawyer asked the court to consider a restorative justice approach toward her client.
The judge said he would adopt such an approach if he thought the girl was genuinely remorseful and realised the effect she had had on the woman. He also said that the offence seemed to have been “very organised”.
The case was adjourned for five weeks to allow time for a pre-sentence probation report to be drafted and furnished to the court.