A prostitute who made some of her children watch as she had sex with clients, one of whom was a police officer, has pleaded guilty to cruelty, gross indecency and neglect.
Her four children suffered sexual abuse, neglect and cruelty by their parents, two uncles and two other men, a Belfast court has been told. The offences were committed between the late 1970s and early 1990s.
The court heard the abuse occurred when the four children were very young. It also heard the mother had sex on various occasions with different men, usually while drunk, sometimes even with two of her brothers.
An earlier hearing had been told the woman was a prostitute.
The prosecution barrister told the court on Friday that the woman made her young children watch her having sex, when some of them were as young as six.
He added that one child was so neglected, she was left in a cot until she was two years old and could not walk or talk.
The court also heard details of a social worker's report that said that the home was dirty, full of rubbish and the children were left starving. The social worker also observed mouse droppings in a cereal box.
The mother was constantly drunk, it was alleged.
The judge also heard that one child, a 'bed wetter', was made to sleep on a heavily soiled mattress.
The prosecution barrister said the father subjected the children to multiple and brutal beatings, usually with a belt and sometimes around the head.
None of the family can be named in order to protect the identity of the victims.
Former police reservist Thomas Fitzpatrick, 53, formerly of Crewhill Gardens in Ardglass, County Down, but now with an address in Belfast, was convicted of indecent assault and gross indecency.
Patrick Kilmartin, 59, a baker from Newcastle, County Down, and originally from Bryansford Gardens but now at another address in the town, was convicted of indecent assault.
The mother and father pleaded guilty to 17 counts of cruelty and neglect and the father one of assault. The mother also admitted six counts of gross indecency. The children's two uncles pleaded guilty to charges of child sexual abuse.
It is expected that all the accused will be sentenced later.
******************************************
French authorities are investigating an Indian couple for neglect after their three small children were found living in appalling conditions in their flat.
An inquiry began after the mother's indifferent attitude to the birth of her baby girl on New Year's Day aroused suspicion among medical staff.
Social services found her brothers, aged two, five and six, living in the flat in a suburb of northern Paris. It seems the boys had never left the flat in all their lives.
The two eldest had developmental problems, could not speak properly and had difficulty walking, as well as being undernourished.
They had simple mattresses for beds and there was no furniture, let alone toys, a judicial source told French daily Liberation. All four children were taken into care in February.
The father, 33, and the mother, aged 27, are in custody being investigated on suspicion of depriving their children of care - a charge which could see them jailed for seven years and fined 100,000 euros (£83,500; $138,000).
News of the children being found has emerged in the French media only this week. It appears that none of the boys attended school or received vaccinations or any other medical attention.
Neither parent worked but they received child benefit, Liberation reports. It seems the family had been living in the seventh-floor flat in the deprived district of La Courneuve in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of Paris for six years. Neighbours in the block of flats said they had never seen the elder boys.
Foster parents are now taking care of the two youngest children while the eldest are receiving specialist care.
One question being asked is why no follow-up was given to the boys, who had been born in France, the BBC's Hugh Schofield reports from Paris.
"Sometimes I saw the father as I was leaving for work but I never saw the children," an unnamed neighbour told Liberation.
"I would hear some noise, sometimes children crying, but that was all."
I'm nearly speechless! These stories are hardly believable and yet true. There is such a need to pray for our children. Please join me.
Her four children suffered sexual abuse, neglect and cruelty by their parents, two uncles and two other men, a Belfast court has been told. The offences were committed between the late 1970s and early 1990s.
The court heard the abuse occurred when the four children were very young. It also heard the mother had sex on various occasions with different men, usually while drunk, sometimes even with two of her brothers.
 |
| Laganside Courts, Belfast |
The prosecution barrister told the court on Friday that the woman made her young children watch her having sex, when some of them were as young as six.
He added that one child was so neglected, she was left in a cot until she was two years old and could not walk or talk.
The court also heard details of a social worker's report that said that the home was dirty, full of rubbish and the children were left starving. The social worker also observed mouse droppings in a cereal box.
The mother was constantly drunk, it was alleged.
The judge also heard that one child, a 'bed wetter', was made to sleep on a heavily soiled mattress.
The prosecution barrister said the father subjected the children to multiple and brutal beatings, usually with a belt and sometimes around the head.
None of the family can be named in order to protect the identity of the victims.
Former police reservist Thomas Fitzpatrick, 53, formerly of Crewhill Gardens in Ardglass, County Down, but now with an address in Belfast, was convicted of indecent assault and gross indecency.
Patrick Kilmartin, 59, a baker from Newcastle, County Down, and originally from Bryansford Gardens but now at another address in the town, was convicted of indecent assault.
The mother and father pleaded guilty to 17 counts of cruelty and neglect and the father one of assault. The mother also admitted six counts of gross indecency. The children's two uncles pleaded guilty to charges of child sexual abuse.
It is expected that all the accused will be sentenced later.
******************************************
French authorities are investigating an Indian couple for neglect after their three small children were found living in appalling conditions in their flat.
An inquiry began after the mother's indifferent attitude to the birth of her baby girl on New Year's Day aroused suspicion among medical staff.
Social services found her brothers, aged two, five and six, living in the flat in a suburb of northern Paris. It seems the boys had never left the flat in all their lives.
The two eldest had developmental problems, could not speak properly and had difficulty walking, as well as being undernourished.
They had simple mattresses for beds and there was no furniture, let alone toys, a judicial source told French daily Liberation. All four children were taken into care in February.
The father, 33, and the mother, aged 27, are in custody being investigated on suspicion of depriving their children of care - a charge which could see them jailed for seven years and fined 100,000 euros (£83,500; $138,000).
News of the children being found has emerged in the French media only this week. It appears that none of the boys attended school or received vaccinations or any other medical attention.
Neither parent worked but they received child benefit, Liberation reports. It seems the family had been living in the seventh-floor flat in the deprived district of La Courneuve in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of Paris for six years. Neighbours in the block of flats said they had never seen the elder boys.
Foster parents are now taking care of the two youngest children while the eldest are receiving specialist care.
One question being asked is why no follow-up was given to the boys, who had been born in France, the BBC's Hugh Schofield reports from Paris.
"Sometimes I saw the father as I was leaving for work but I never saw the children," an unnamed neighbour told Liberation.
"I would hear some noise, sometimes children crying, but that was all."
I'm nearly speechless! These stories are hardly believable and yet true. There is such a need to pray for our children. Please join me.
No comments:
Post a Comment