Former foster parent found not guilty of child cruelty after trial in Waterford Circuit Court
The trial was held at Waterford Circuit Court.
A former foster parent has been found not guilty of child cruelty after a trial in Waterford.
The woman recently stood trial at Waterford Circuit Court before a jury of eight men and four women. Judge Eugene O'Kelly presided over the trial, which was held in-camera with reporting restrictions applied. Prosecutor Shane O'Callaghan BL acted on behalf of the State.
The defendant had been charged with a single charge of cruelty against a child on dates between mid-2017 until early 2021. The complainant, now a teenager, alleged that she had been subjected to punching, slapping, pinching, bullying, threats and verbal abuse by the defendant.
In March 2021, Gardaí received a report from a neighbour of the accused. The neighbour was well-known to the child and had found her outside her home crying. The neighbour spoke to the child and brought her into her home.
It was there the child alleged that her foster parent had been "hurting" her. The neighbour found bruises on the child's arms and a lump between her shoulder blades. The neighbour took photos of the injuries and alerted the authorities. TUSLA Child and Family Agency removed the child from the house. The child said in her specialist interview with Gardaí: "She would call me an ugly disgusting animal. She said my mam doesn't care about me, she don't love me.
"I told her my mam loves me, just because she never took care of me don't mean she don't love me."
According to the child, the accused said that her mother would have chosen a bottle of beer over her daughter. She claimed that during one incident, the accused said to her: "I'm not hurting you but if you say that again I will hurt you. I'm going to murder you."
The child told Gardaí that her foster parent punched and slapped her on her back and arms on numerous occasions.
While being cross-examined the child said of the accused: "She did actually spoil me in a lot of ways," referencing a holiday she went on with her family and saving money to buy her an expensive gift.
However, she later said: "Money, gifts and a holiday will not make up for what she did."
In her interview with Gardaí, the accused vehemently denied all allegations put to her. She told Gardaí that the child had a difficult early life and that she would scratch herself in her sleep.
The accused said: "It wouldn't have been a nice background. Her mother was a drinker."
The defence brought forward two witnesses.
The Court heard from a woman who was cared for by the defendant from the time she was a child well into her teens. The witness said she was "never aggressive" and had remained a close friend. Mr O'Callaghan asked her if there was a "marked difference between minding a child from 9-5 and caring for a child 24/7".
The second witness was a doctor who confirmed that the accused had several serious medical conditions that would leave her lethargic.
In his closing speech, Mr O'Callaghan urged the jury to "not forget" common sense. Mr O'Callaghan referenced the specialist interview given by the complainant, wherein she described being slammed onto a tiled floor by the accused. He said: "There is very clear, very consistent evidence, it went into a lot of detail."
Mr O'Callaghan referenced the testimony of the neighbour supporting the claims of the complainant. He ended: "Ultimately that's what this comes down to; who do you believe?"
Defence counsel Gareth Hayden BL warned the jury to leave aside emotion and sympathy when deciding on the case. Mr Hayden pointed to 'glaring' inconsistencies in the child's testimony, including the child incorrectly naming the day of the alleged assault in 2021.
He said: "I'm not saying she's a liar, I'm saying a 10-year-old believes in Santa. It doesn't make them liars that they believe in something. They believe in lots of things."
Mr Hayden said the child's injuries were the result of 'rough and tumble' and that the defendant was physically incapable of hurting her.
The jury spent over three hours in deliberations before returning a 10-2 majority not guilty verdict.
