‘Cry for help’ - teen destroyed care home
The child broke up to eight windows.
A teenage boy destroyed property valued at over €10,000 while living in specialised Tusla accommodation in the South East region.
The boy, aged in his mid-teens, destroyed a television, chairs, plates, cutlery, sinks, glass panels and windows on a date in March 2025.
The child appeared at an in-camera hearing at Waterford Circuit Court before Judge Eugene O’Kelly.
The boy was understood to have been the only occupant living in the protected accommodation when he committed extensive criminal damage. At one point he picked up a stool and threw it through a glass patio door, creating up to €2,000 worth of damage. The damages were valued at €11,386 in total.
Sergeant Michael O’Grady informed the court that the child said at the time: “He’ll do it again if he stays here.”
The child admitted to Gardaí that he threw the television and broke up to eight windows, saying: “I’m not happy here, I want to be moved to another house.”
The court heard that the boy had four previous convictions acquired in 2024, including for the unauthorised taking of a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), burglary and public order offences.
Defence counsel Gareth Hayden BL explained that the boy had been in the care system from a very early age and had "little interaction" with his birth parents.
Mr Hayden said that the boy destroyed property in "the misguided hope that he’d be moved" and described his actions as a "cry for help".
The child "no longer has the same frustrations", according to Mr Hayden.
Judge O’Kelly will revisit the matter in January 2026.
