Father who left baby in car for more than eight hours to be sentenced for child neglect

A father who left his nine-month-old child alone in a car for over eight hours will be sentenced next week.

The 35-year-old man, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of his child has pleaded guilty to one count of child neglect at a location in the Dublin 15 area on October 21, 2023.

He has two previous convictions, one of which was for a minor road traffic matter.

Garda Sergeant Cian Logan told Maddie Grant, BL, prosecuting, told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that on the date in question, the defendant presented to Clondalkin garda station (in Dublin) in a distressed state and told gardai that he could not find his daughter or his car.

He told gardai that he had searched for both for several hours. He said he had been drinking and could not remember where he left the car and that his daughter was inside. The court heard that the child's mother was away on a pre-planned trip.

The defendant told gardai that he had also gone to meet someone to buy drugs. As a result of this information, the gardai launched a search that involved all available gardai from Dublin and Meath as well as the garda helicopter.

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The defendant had contacted his neighbours at 9.15pm, and they drove him around for a number of hours to try to locate both the child and the car. The gardai sought an “emergency ping” for the defendant's phone as he believed it may have been in the car.

The mobile phone “ping” was located in the Dublin 15 area, and gardai began to search this location. At 4.55am, a car was located and an infant was observed unsecured and in a distressed state in the car.

The court heard that a window of the car was broken and a member of the gardai climbed in and unlocked the car. The baby was shivering and was observed to have blue feet and was dressed in a baby grow.

After being removed from the car, the baby was wrapped in additional blankets and brought to Temple Street Children's Hospital where they were changed into warmer clothes and milk and yoghurt were given.

The doctor who examined the child noted that its temperature had returned to normal but confirmed that the baby had been exposed to low temperatures.

Sergeant Logan told the court that Section 12 of the Childcare Act was subsequently invoked and that TUSLA was alerted.

The baby was placed in the care of other family members until the baby's mother could return back to the country, which she did immediately. The court was told that the baby made a full recovery. 

A large amount of CCTV footage was harvested by gardai, which traced the defendant in different locations throughout Dublin. The court heard that the baby had been alone in the car for eight and-a-half hours.

The defendant was arrested, interviewed and charged. His car was seized, and traces of cocaine were found near the gear stick and in a bag at the driver's door.

Sergeant Logan agreed with Michael Bowman SC, defending, that his client admitted to gardai he had been drink-driving and did not know where his child was.

The garda agreed with counsel that the defendant presented to the garda station in a very upset and distressed state and described his child as his “whole world”. He further agreed that the man entered a guilty plea at the earliest possible stage.

The partner of the defendant and the mother of the child agreed with Mr Bowman that she was not aware that the defendant was a full-blown alcoholic and that he had been "masking" these issues.

She also agreed that she was not happy to have the defendant in the family home after the incident.

The woman told the court that her partner “is a good person who has done a bad thing which should not define him” and she described him as a “kind, caring and committed father”.

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Mr Bowman said that a probation report, which was before the court, placed his client at low risk of re-offending and that no other interventions were deemed necessary by the Probation Service.

He added: “TUSLA carried out an investigation and found that the defendant was not a risk to his daughter”.

He said the defendant completed a five-week residential rehabilitation programme and has now been involved in their aftercare services for the past year. The court heard that he is drug-free and tested regularly.

Mr Bowman commented: “The court is dealing with a very serious incident and due to efforts and intervention of the gardai stopped this from being an even more serious incident”.

He handed in a number of testimonials to the court from family members, who described his client as someone who “has grown into a loving and caring father”.

The court heard that the maximum sentence available is seven years in prison and or a fine.

Judge Sarah Berkeley remanded the accused into custody and adjourned this matter for finalisation until next Tuesday.