‘Vulnerable’ teenager refused to come to Kildare court

Naas District Court was told that a teenage girl previously accused of assault refused to 'leave her bed' to come to court.

The comments were made by a Tusla representative on Thursday, December 8, during an in-camera (in private) session at the courthouse.

It was heard on a previous court date that the girl said she would rather go to a detention centre then reside in her current residential care home, and as such, she left the property to go live at a new address.

Judge Desmond Zaidan previously expressed concerns over the juvenile, and was visibly shocked when Garda Sergeant Brian Jacob told the judge in the court on Thursday, November 17, that the girl had not turned up to court.

Both the Tusla worker and the girl's legal representative at the time could not provide an explanation as to why she was not present on the day in question.

On the latest date, gardaí said that they would not be seeking a bench warrant for the teenager, as she was in a 'vulnerable state'.

Her barrister, Aisling Murphy, told sitting Judge Michéle Finan that the one of the girl's parents was recently handed down a long custodial sentence, and added that she believes that this may be the reason why her client refused to come to court today.

The Tusla representative told Judge Finan that her presence was requested by Judge Zaidan on the previous court date.

The judge remanded the juvenile on continuing bail to a date in January, to allow time for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Judge Finan also told the Tusla representative that her presence was not needed on this date.