A teenage girl worked as a prostitute with the full knowledge of her mother and in the presence of her six-year-old sister, a court has been told.
The 17-year-old had been accompanied by her mother and sister when she was engaged in an act of prostitution in a laneway with a 50-year-old man, the Dublin Children's Court was told yesterday.
Judge Catherine Murphy heard that the girl's mother may also be prosecuted for her involvement. The girl claimed that her mother was present to "mind her" and prevent her from getting pregnant.
She had been charged last week 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, on January 3rd. She was granted bail on strict conditions compelling her to obey a nightly curfew and to stay away from Benburb Street, a red-light district.
However, Judge Murphy heard yesterday that the girl had been re-arrested for breaching these bail conditions.
Garda Mathew McKenna said that she had been in breach of the curfew. He had called to her residence, a B&B, during curfew hours and was told by her mother that she had gone out to buy drugs. He objected to bail, saying there were significant concerns for her welfare.
Garda McKenna said that when the girl was arrested she had "been engaged in an act of prostitution" with a middle-aged man. The girl's mother was present as well as another daughter, aged six, he said.
He said a file was being prepared for the DPP. "We followed the accused and her mother and another child down a lane, with a man aged 50. We believe that her mother was involved with her, and a child aged six."
The distraught girl begged the judge for bail. "I want to go home to my mother and sister. I learned my lesson, I don't want to go back to prison," she said. She said of her mother: "She was minding me, making sure I don't get pregnant."
Judge Murphy noted that in a probation report last year concerns had been raised that the girl was at risk of getting involved in prostitution. "It is a very sobering report indeed and the concerns anticipated seem to have materialised," she said. "This is a matter for the health board to become involved very quickly." She remanded the girl in custody until next week for her own safety. "I would be putting you at huge risk if I were to let you out today," she told the weeping girl.
The girl said: "I love my mother; I just want to go back to my mother."