This article is from page 2 of the 2013-04-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
A TEENAGER who suffered years of horrific neglect hopes her “voice will finally be heard” after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) last week decided to appeal the leniency of a sentence imposed on her mother.
In February, the 38-year-old woman was given a suspended four-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to eight counts of neglect.
That prompted her eldest daughter to urge the DPP to appeal the sentence handed down by the Circuit Criminal Court.
Last week the DPP signaled its intent to appeal the sentence at the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Clare-based solicitor Patrick Moylan, who was instructed by the 17 year old to write a submission to the DPP, says the girl is happy with the decision.
Mr Moylan says, “She is very pleased that the DPP have taken into account her appeal and that the submission has been successful. She felt she wasn’t heard in the Circuit Court and she hopes now that, in the Court of Criminal Appeal, her voice will finally be heard.”
Last month Mr Moylan sent a letter to the Office of the DPP requesting that the case be appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeal “on the basis that the sentence handed down by Judge Carroll Moran was unduly lenient given the horrific nature of the neglect in this case”.
The appeal also highlighted a previous occasion that the woman had been before the courts.
The woman was initially sentenced to six months in prison but on appeal the presiding Circuit Court Judge gave the woman the benefit of the probation act.
Mr Moylan wrote that the “circumstances of this previous matter should have been brought to Judge Moran’s attention” prior to sentence.
The offences, which relate to seven children, took place on dates unknown between March 2001 and July 2010 in two areas of Clare. The eldest child is now 17 while the youngest child is now 4. The woman cannot be named for legal reasons. Her former partner has also pleaded guilty to eight counts of child neglect.
Harrowing details of the children’s “appalling” upbringing were heard as evidence against the woman was outlined in court in February.
The children often went without food and clean clothes. The court heard how a fridge and freezer in the family home were locked with a bun- gee cord.
In her victim impact statement, the eldest child recalled how she was left to look after her prematurely born baby sister when her parents went out drinking. She stated that she and her siblings were subjected to mental and physical abuse. The girl said she was beaten if the child cried at night. She described the couple as “vermin”.
Reports from HSE and Probation Services expressed the view that alcohol was a contributory factor to the abuse and neglect.
In sentencing Judge Moran said these same reports stressed the opinion that alcohol was not alone responsible.
In light of woman having stayed off alcohol and her guilty plea, Judge Moran said it would not be right to impose an immediate jail term. It could take up to 12 months before the appeal is heard.