A solicitor has been appointed the guardian of a 15-year-old Dublin boy who pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods after his mother failed to attend a court hearing yesterday. The boy is to be held in a detention centre for the next two years for handling £4,000 worth of stolen property.
Judge Cyril Kelly said the boy's mother had "refused to reveal her whereabouts" and was not present in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.
Garda Cormac Ryan said, depending on when he had spoken to the boy's mother, she had either "given up all hope" or was "very worried" about her son. She was a separated mother and had been very ill recently. She had attended previous hearings.
The witness told Ms Orla Crowe, prosecuting, that the boy had been in custody for a year as he had been unable to meet the bail conditions of his own £50 and an independent surety of £300. He had in the past absconded from Trinity House detention centre.
The boy pleaded guilty to handling £4,000 worth of stolen property, including jewellery, camera equipment and a heart monitor in Templeogue on July 22nd, 1997.
Ms Mary Ellen Ring, defending, asked the judge to appoint a solicitor, Ms Valerie Cronin, as the teenager's guardian and to look after his interests during the hearing.
The teenager had one previous conviction. The Juvenile Court had ordered his detention for two years in Oberstown House on a criminal damage charge.
Judge Kelly ordered that the youth should remain in the detention centre until April 28th, 2000. He was told the power to review such cases and grant temporary release lay with the Minister for Justice.