Sentence warning for teen burglar who targeted Dublin beauty salons

The 16-year-old boy pleaded guilty at the Dublin Children’s Court to burglary offences which took place last year. Judge John O’Connor was furnished with a probation report and a cognitive assessment of the boy from the Child and Family Agency.

Judge O’Connor had already heard that on September 3, the boy gained entry to a tanning salon on Swords Road, Dublin 9, caused damage to the intercom system and stole €20 from the till. On Aug. 2 at about 2am he smashed a glass window at a cafe in Drumcondra causing €150 worth of damage.

On the following day, he entered another hair salon in Drumcondra after smashing the lock before damaging the CCTV system. He caused €150 worth of damage and went through the till but no money was taken. After kicking in a fire door, he gained entry to another hair salon in the same area on Aug. 11 and a sum of money was taken. He caused €200 worth of damage but was identified from finger-prints recovered at the scene.

The defence said there had been a “cluster” of events around the same time. The court was also heard that the teenager had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

He adjourned sentencing after the teenager entered a guilty plea to an additional burglary charge. The court heard that on Aug. 4 last year the entered a building in Drumcondra as a trespasser to commit theft.

Judge O’Connor has warend the boy that there are consequences to his behaviour.

He told the boy, who is already serving a custodial sentence, that he will get another term if he does not engage well and work with the Probation Service in relation to his offending. “I have to say that if you do not do that work you could go in to detention,” he warned.

He has already noted that the teenager had been co-operative with gardai and had pleaded guilty. The boy had 21 prior criminal convictions, the court heard. The most recent include motor theft, breach of the peace and burglary offences for which he is serving a sentence with a January 2018 release date.

The boy, who was accompanied to court by his social worker, replied “yeah” when warned that he need to co-operate with the Probation Service.

His current sentence was imposed by a court in Co. Tipperary. However, he has had previous cases before the Children’s Court in Dublin which last year gave him a one-month sentence for stealing €4,500 during a burglary.

A solicitor for Tusla had told the court the boy had complex needs and required stability. Previously, the teen had done well while on remand in Oberstown and going home was not in his best interests and his mother was worried about him, the court had heard.

Some of his problems related to his peers and he needed to refrain from drug taking but the court also heard he had emotional and language issues.

The teen's social worker had said that the boy went into voluntary care in 2015. His first placement worked well until another youth was sent there and the boy's behaviour then dis-improved. He was sent to a unit in the midlands and after that another one in Dublin. The social worker was of the view that the teenager was more at risk then and he ran away from care in July and August.

The court heard the teen already has a pro-criminal peer group. His mother loves him and all her children but struggles to manage, the social worker had explained.