Man appears at Derry court charged with child abduction

A 26 year-old man charged with child abduction has denied the offence saying he was drunk and woke up to find a young girl in bed beside him.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before Derry Magistrates Court charged with taking a child in care away from a responsible person. The offence is said to have taken place on March 2, 2014.

Paddy MacDermott, defence solicitor, said that the man denied the offence and said that he was drunk and went to bed only to awake and find a young girl in bed beside him.

A police officer confirmed that the 26 year-old said that he had ‘no idea how she got there’ and that there had been no statement of complaint from the girl.

Mr MacDermott said that he was making enquiries into a suitable bail address for the man and the matter was adjourned until March 10.