Childminder (19) admits breaking baby’s arm

A 19-YEAR-OLD Latvian childminder has pleaded guilty to wilfully assaulting, ill-treating and neglecting her one-year-old baby niece.

The teen has pleaded guilty to the charge in connection with breaking the baby’s arm.

In the case at Ennis Circuit Court, the teen has pleaded guilty to wilfully assaulting, neglecting, ill-treating, abandoning and exposing the child in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to the child’s health at an address in the west on May 21 last year. When the case was before the district court last year, Judge Patrick Durcan said the injury the baby sustained was “very serious” and declined jurisdiction.

Detective Deirdre O’Shaughnessy told the district court that the baby turned one a day after she was admitted to hospital on May 24 last.

“The baby was admitted to hospital with a spiral fracture to her upper right arm,” said Det O’Shaughnessy.

“It was an unexplained injury and it was referred to us by Tusla due to the unexplained nature of it. The child was not walking at the time.”

The accused is the maternal aunt of the baby and was at the time in paid employment from her sister and partner to look after the baby and two of the baby’s siblings for a number of months.

At Ennis Circuit Court yesterday, counsel for the accused Rebecca Treacy BL requested a Probation Report for the accused.

Counsel for the State Lorcan Connolly BL said that a date can be allocated for the sentencing hearing on March 25.