The Children's Court/Carl O'Brien: The middle-aged mother stood up in court, clasping her black handbag tightly underneath her arm, and broke into tears.
"I'm afraid of him," she said between staggered breaths, not looking at her 17-year-old son who sat in the corner of the room with expressionless eyes.
"He comes home at night, out of his head on drink, and breaks up the house and calls me terrible names.
"He's been thrown out of school. I organised for him to go back to school, but he wouldn't go back," the mother said, reaching into her bag for a tattered piece of tissue to wipe her eyes.
The boy, wearing a green Reebok tracksuit top, leaned back in his chair, let out a loud sigh and scratched his head.
Judge Bridget Reilly asked the mother whether the incident had been an isolated one.
"It's been building up over the last year," she said, as her voice trembled.
"And did you seek any help?" the judge asked.
"Where do I get help from?" the mother asked.
"It's clear the boy needs help. This doesn't happen over night. You yourself say he is not well," the judge said.
"Everyone has tried to help him," the mother answered later, "but he doesn't want it."
The garda, who gave evidence of the arrest of the boy in the early hours of the morning, said the boy had been arrested under the Criminal Damage Act.
The boy's solicitor, who was appointed for him by the judge under the legal aid system, said his client's parents were separated and that the boy wished to stay with an uncle.
The judge took the uncle's details and organised for him to re-appear before the court in a week's time.
"I hope you can find a way of dealing with your problems at the moment," the judge said to the boy, who stared intently at the wood-panelled floor.
"I don't know if you feel they are overwhelming you or if they are too much to deal with, but things can change," the judge said sympathetically, before concluding the case. The boy stood up, while his mother turned her back on her son and walked out of the courtroom.
The case was not the only case heard by the judge last week regarding a parent being terrorised by their child.
A day earlier a girl appeared in Court 55 of the Children's Court after spending a week in Mountjoy jail having allegedly assaulted her mother, brother and sister.
A week before, the 17-year-old girl with wild hair and red eyes shrieked at her mother and had to be removed from the courtroom as she unleashed a tirade of abuse at the judge.
A week later the girl stood before the judge looking elegant with her hair tied up and wearing a black trouser suit, although her eyes looked tired and aged.
Her well-dressed mother, accompanied by her son and older daughter, were in court to say they were willing to take the 17-year-old back into their home on condition she did not take drugs or alcohol.
"I'm sure this has caused a lot of stress for everyone and I'm sure that you are in some distress," the judge said, before asking the girl if she could change her behaviour.
"Yes," the girl said meekly. The judge issued strict bail conditions, including provisions that she sign on at a Garda station once a week, obey a nightly curfew, and not threaten or assault any family member.
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