A MAN has gone on trial at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee accused of abducting his daughter from a healthcare facility. The father was arrested in Dublin, where he was planning to bring the girl to the UK, the court heard.
The accused who, along with his partner, the child’s mother, are unable to care for their daughter, were allowed twice-weekly visits to see her at a Health Service Executive facility.
The child was now back under the care of the HSE and was thriving, the court was told. Strict reporting restrictions apply, to protect the identity of the child.
The court heard from the man’s defence team that the girl’s parents were concerned about marks and bruises they noticed on her while she was in foster care from the age of six months to 18 months. They had made several requests to have her placed with different foster parents.
The man was the natural father, not the legal guardian, and the HSE had obtained an ongoing court order from the District Court giving it care of the child, prosecutor Tom Rice told the six-woman, six-man jury in Tralee yesterday at the start of proceedings.
On the morning of March 3rd, 2010, a social worker brought the girl from her foster home to a HSE facility, where the child’s parents were to spend time with her.
The parents were allowed 3½ hours with her twice a week. At first the visits were supervised but this was relaxed over time. They were allowed to wheel the girl around in a push-chair but were not allowed to remove her from the grounds of the building.
The mother of the girl arrived alone for the visit and, after some minutes, was allowed to be alone with the child. However, when the social worker arrived an hour later, neither was in the room. A search for the child was conducted.
The accused did not himself remove the girl from the facility but was involved in planning her removal from it, Mr Rice said.
Defence counsel Richard Liston put it to social workers yesterday that the natural parents loved their little girl, and had made complaints about bruising and other injuries they had noticed when given access to her.
Social workers told the court yesterday the bruises were within the acceptable range given the child’s age and mobility.
The social worker dealing with the family since late 2009 said each of several complaints by the parents had been examined. In at least one instance the alleged bruise was a small mark.
The parents frequently complained about marks that she could not see, she said. “The parents seemed unable to accept a child of that age will sustain bruises,” the social worker said.
The child was thriving with the foster parents, and the standard of care they provided was very good, she added.
Her supervisor, a principal social worker with the HSE, told the court no medical intervention was ever required for the child.
“I don’t dispute they [the natural parents] care for their child, but there is an issue they are unable to care for their child. That is why the child is in care,” he told the court.
The trial, presided over by Judge Carroll Moran, continues.