Mother beat young child every 3 days

A FIVE year-old boy asked police if he could stay with them, rather than go home and be locked in a room, a court has heard.

The little boy was regularly beaten and teachers at his school noticed injuries to his face and body. He has since been taken into care.

At Downpatrick District Court last Thursday the boy’s mother was given a three-month suspended jail sentence after she admitted causing him cruelty.

The 25 year-old woman cannot be named in order to protect her son’s identity.

The court heard that teachers noticed the boy’s injuries on February 10 last year.

The child told police he had been beaten as “he didn’t do what she wanted him to do”, a prosecutor told Thursday’s sitting of the court.

The boy said he wanted to sleep in the police station and not go home to be locked in a room.

The mother initially denied any knowledge of the injuries and refused to look at photograph taken of the marks on his forehead, cheek and arm.

She then admitted she could have caused a mark to his arm. She admitted smacking her son every third day.

A defence barrister said the woman had two other children and the authorities had not raised any concerns about their welfare.

He said the woman had “overreacted and went over the acceptable boundary”.

“There is enormous personal pressure on this woman,” the barrister added.

District Judge Eamon King said concerns were “quite properly” raised at the child’s school before the involvement of police and social services.

“It was observed that, in her care for this child, there was no apparent affection or bond,” he said.

“This unfortunate little boy is now in care and out of harm’s way, and I hope that over time he will be able to put these matters behind him.

“Children are the most vulnerable members of society and they are entitled to the maximum protection,” he continued.

“One would expect they would get that within the family unit, but unfortunately that’s not always the case.”