A Cork woman has pleaded guilty to taking a newborn baby from its mother at a maternity hospital in September 2002.
Ms Marie Crean (37), Eglinton Place, Western Road, Cork, appeared before Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, where she was charged with the attempted abduction of a four-day-old baby boy at the Erinville hospital last September 24th.
Ms Crean pleaded guilty when the charges of taking the baby without lawful authority or reasonable excuse and removing him from the lawful control of its mother were read out.
A baby boy, one of twins, was allegedly abducted at the hospital at 8.40 p.m on the evening in question and was prevented from being removed from the building when security staff were alerted by an alarm going off.
Yesterday Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that Ms Crean has a chronic alcohol problem and that she was in a distressed frame of mind on the day of the offence, which happened to be the anniversary of her own twins' birth.
Defence counsel for Ms Crean told the court that she was receiving psychiatric treatment at Limerick Prison where she has been in custody since last September.
Judge Patrick Moran adjourned the sentencing of Ms Crean until June 20th, to allow for the preparation of probation and welfare service and psychiatric reports.