Abusive mother to be sentenced next week in Galway

The sentencing of a woman who beat and neglected seven of her children over a five-year period has been adjourned until Monday, following a lengthy sentence hearing at Galway Circuit Criminal Court.

The woman (39), who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the children, pleaded not guilty during a nine-day trial in January to 42 charges of child cruelty and neglect between September 2006 and May 2011. The jury found her guilty of 29 charges.

The children’s plight came to light when they were taken into care in 2011 and began to recount stories to their foster parents.

Specialist Garda interviewers conducted taped interviews with six of the children in 2012 and 2013, which were played to the jury. The older two girls also gave live evidence by video link to the court.

Regularly beaten

All six said their mother regularly beat them with wooden spoons, a wooden back- scratcher or with leather belts. They said she was regularly absent from home, sometimes for up to a week at a time, while they were left in the care of their mother’s drunken male friends.

They had no way of contacting her and there was little or no food in the house.

Former neighbours told the trial they had fed and clothed some of the children and had alerted social services. They said the children always looked “malnourished, shabby, scruffy, neglected and uncared for”.

Social workers made an unannounced visit in May 2011 and found one daughter looking after the smaller children, while two drunken men roamed the house. They immediately placed all the children with various foster parents.

The children expressed sorrow during Garda interviews at being separated from each other. They continue to live separately with various foster parents.

The woman denied the children’s allegations at her trial and said she was a good mother.

Guilty plea

A 48-year-old man, who was the woman’s partner at the time of the offences, and who fathered the two youngest children, pleaded guilty on December 2nd to five counts of cruelty and neglect towards five of the children between 2008 and 2011. He will also be sentenced on Monday.

Senior counsel Bernard Condon, defending him, told the sentence hearing that in their statements to gardaí, the children had expressed gratitude towards his client for pleading guilty, thereby saving them the trauma of having to give evidence against him.

Garda Denis Kelleher agreed the children had spoken positively about the man and had said he was the only one who was nice to them.

The man apologised to the children in court and said he hoped they would forgive him.

Scared children never felt any love

One of the children of a woman who is to be sentenced for child cruelty offences next Monday has told how she was full of anxiety when she lived with her mother and could not eat for days.

Victim impact statements from the woman’s children were read to a sentence hearing in Galway Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.

One of her sons said in his statement he wanted his mother to know she should not have done this to her children and she should not get away with it.

The eldest daughter read her statement to the hearing. She thanked her mother for being cruel because she had met her wonderful foster parents as a result of it.

“When I lived with my mother, I was full of anxiety. I couldn’t eat for days. I get so angry with her for what she has done.

“She makes my blood boil. I’m scared from living with her. I feel intimidated by her and her friends and I’m always afraid I will meet them when I’m out.”

Deeply saddened A report from a psychologist in relation to another daughter said the girl was deeply saddened by the fact her siblings were taken away from her. She had effectively been the mother figure from a very young age and had cared for her younger siblings as best she could.

The girl, the report stated, was very angry that her mother had failed to protect her from harm and she had experienced feelings of abandonment and betrayal.

The psychologist described the girl as “engaging, talented and a warm young person with a strong caring instinct”.

One of the woman’s sons said in his victim impact statement: “When I lived at home, I was always afraid. My mum drank all the time and left us alone. I was scared and upset when mum was at home. It’s not fair. I do not get to live with my family now. We only get together for one hour once a month.

“My mum stopped seeing me a long time ago. It made me angry. She didn’t want to see me. I’m way behind at school. I didn’t know what a mum was supposed to be. I now know. I have boundaries now and I prefer boundaries.”

A psychological report on the boy stated his mother’s ill-treatment had “a profound and enduring impact” on him.

Punching bag Another son said in his statement to the court that what his mother had done to him and his siblings made him very angry. “I was never loved. I was always scared and anxious. I always felt humiliated and was made fun of when living with my mother.

“I felt at seven years of age that life was not worth living. I was used as a punching bag.”

He said he was treated respectfully by his foster parents. “They have taught me what is right and what is wrong. It would be nice if we could all be together. I’m relieved,” his statement concluded. The boy signed his statement using his foster parent’s surname.

The findings of a psychological report on the boy were not read into evidence due to the sensitivity of some of the contents.

One of the sons wrote a letter to Judge Karen O’Connor. In it, he expressed his sorrow at being separated from his siblings and recalled feeling frightened and alone during his mother’s violent outbursts. “I think mums should take care of their children and look after them,” he wrote.