A prosecution against a young woman, who was arrested for allegedly engaging in prostitution while her mother and six-year-old sister were present, was yesterday struck out by a judge who described the case as "one of the saddest I have dealt with".
The now 19-year-old defendant, a recovering heroin addict, had been charged at the Dublin Children's Court under section 7 of the Criminal Law Sexual Offences Act for loitering in a public place with intent to solicit or importune another person for the purposes of prostitution, at Stoneybatter, Dublin, on January 3rd, 2005. She was 17 at the time of the offence.
Prosecuting garda Mathew McKenna of the Bridewell Garda station applied to have the case against the young woman struck out. Presiding Judge Aingeal Ní Chondúin was told that Garda McKenna had been instrumental in getting social services to intervene and to provide help to the young woman.
Defence solicitor Catherine Ghent detailed the young woman's background for the court. She said the girl came from an exceptionally dysfunctional background. Her mother was a heroin addict; there was violence in the home; "she had to fend for herself from a young age"; she had been taken to England by a 26-year-old man against her and her family's wishes at the age of 16; he had injected her with heroin; throughout childhood she had to look after a sibling and her mother; and though she is a recovering addict her mother still pressures her to take heroin.
"In 2004 I wrote to the Minister for Health and Children to relay concerns that had been brought to my attention," said Ms Ghent. "She was 16 at the time. At that stage she had a boyfriend who was aged 26. She would have been below the age of consent. He had a very serious, malevolent influence over her."
She had been receiving assistance from social services since gardaí contacted them after her arrest. Her little sister was taken into care.
The young woman also pleaded guilty yesterday to a trespassing offence. She had been squatting in an abandoned flat and her condition was described by a garda as "one of the worst I have ever seen".
Judge Ní Chondúin said the case was "one of the saddest cases I have dealt with since I came on the bench". She was glad the defendant, who is now on methadone, had made such an improvement in her health, and remanded her on bail until June for a probation report.
Explaining at an earlier hearing why her mother was present while she was engaged in the alleged acts of prostitution, the teenager had said: "She was minding me, making sure I don't get pregnant."