12-year-old girl facing criminal damage and common assault charges released on bail

A 12-year-old girl has been released on bail at Derry Magistrate's Court today after she was charged with criminal damage and common assault.

The girl, who cannot be named due to her age, faced the charges relating to an incident on August 26.

The court heard that the girl had no address as her mother did not want her back in the house and other family members were refusing to take her. 

A police officer said that one of the issues with the girl was that social services had nowhere to place her. 

District Judge Barney McElholm said that the judiciary had made it clear that there were not enough secure beds available for cases such as this but were not listened to. 

He released the girl on bail to an address approved by the PSNI and Social Services. 

She will appear again next month.