A COUPLE appeared in an English court yesterday charged with the abduction of a baby boy who was found abandoned last week at Carlow cathedral. The woman (21) and man (24) appeared before Mansfield Magistrates’ Court in Nottinghamshire. They cannot be named for legal reasons.
The eight-month-old baby was allegedly taken from his legal guardian’s home in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, on Thursday. He was found by a Carlow churchgoer in good health on Friday afternoon. There was a note attached to the baby with his name and date of birth.
Gardaí handed the baby over to the Health Service Executive (HSE). They sought a couple who had left the area in a British registration white Renault Clio car.
A couple were arrested by police in north Wales at about 11pm on Sunday. They were both charged with child abduction and remanded into police custody.
It is understood they presented themselves at a police station after getting off a ferry at Holyhead.
The woman is expected to appear at Nottingham Crown Court today. The man is due to appear at the same court on February 2nd. Yesterday, the child remained in the care of the HSE and is expected to be reunited with his legal guardian this week.
The HSE said that under the Child Care Act it could not comment on the case. The boy was found by a woman visiting the Cathedral of the Assumption in Carlow on Friday afternoon. – (Additional reporting, PA)
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