Creche worker used ‘appalling roughness’ on two-year-old

A CRECHE worker lost control when she meted out “appalling roughness” to a two-yearold boy last year, a court heard.

Judge Patrick Durcan said the child care worker (29) committed “a serious, unrestrained, unambiguous breach of duty in the minding of the boy” when she was having difficulty getting him to sleep.

At Ennis District Court, the Galway woman walked free after Judge Durcan imposed a suspended four-month prison term for the offence.

The woman pleaded guilty to assaulting, mishandling and ill-treating the child in her care in a manner likely to cause unnecessary injury to the child’s health contrary to Section 246 of the Children’s Act at a creche in south Galway on June 21, 2019.

Judge Durcan said he was suspending the prison term due to the woman’s early plea of guilty as well as her co-operation with gardaí and the contents of a report on the accused by an adult and child psychotherapist, Siobhan Whyte.

The accused also has no previous convictions and the child in the case has since been returned to the care of the creche. His parents opted not to make a victim impact statement.

The court was told the child has no recurring symptoms from the incident in the children’s bedroom in the creche.

Judge Durcan said: “Whatever level in training she has in childcare, she did not have self-control or any ability to control a child in her care who was having difficulty going to sleep and as a result, appalling roughness was meted out to a child and the child did not deserve that.”