A seriously disturbed girl who escaped from a controlled therapeutic unit earlier this week has returned there voluntarily, saying she had injected herself, the High Court heard yesterday. The girl had handed over a syringe and white powder to staff.
The 16-year-old girl escaped from the unit, which was built some months ago in compliance with a High Court order, on Tuesday. Mr Justice Kelly directed the building of the unit after hearing the girl was being detained in the locked ward of an adult psychiatric hospital with 30 seriously mentally ill adults.
The girl was in foster care from the age of one year to 10; was sexually abused at the age of 10, abused solvents from the age of 12 and drugs from the age of 14. She has an alcohol problem and a history of self-harm. After being told of the girl's escape, Mr Justice Kelly issued warrants directing the Garda to search for, arrest, detain and return her to the unit.
Yesterday, he was told by Ms Mary O'Toole SC, for the health board responsible for the girl's welfare, that she had returned voluntarily to the therapeutic unit about midnight on Thursday. Mr Justice Kelly said he appreciated the board could not guarantee security but the liberalisation of the regime for her would have to cease. Also yesterday, the judge dealt with the case of a 13-year-old boy who remains in his "chaotic" family home, with a drunken, violent father, several other siblings and others, because there was no secure place available for him. The child's mother also has an alcohol problem and is living on the streets.
Mr Justice Kelly said the only options available for the child were prison or his home. The child should be in a secure place but there was none. He would not send him to prison, where the risk was greater than at home.
The only order he would make was directing the child be placed in a residential unit on October 23rd, when he was told a place would be available there. He noted the health board did not require a court order if the child remained at home.