A COURT has heard how a 15- year-old Ennis boy falsely imprisoned his mother and sister, assaulting his mother in a row over internet access.
At Ennis Circuit Court, the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to assaulting his mother and falsely imprisoning his mother and sister on July 29th, 2009, at the family home.
Counsel for the State, Stephen Coughlan, told the court the boy took the action after his mother disapproved of her son visiting patients at the acute psychiatric unit of Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis and because she refused her son internet access.
Mr Coughlan said gardaí were called to the home and observed the boy’s mother restraining her son on the bed in the front bedroom before intervening.
Mr Coughlan said the teenager produced five kitchen knives and the allegation is he threatened to kill his mother and refused to let either of them leave the room.
The State counsel said the teenager was first deemed unsuitable for interview under the Mental Treatment Act.
Mr Coughlan said the boy has no contact with his father, now has a good relationship with his mother and has no previous convictions.
Counsel for the teenager, Pat Whyms, said he has been cared for at a HSE residential care unit for teenage boys since October 2009.
The centre’s manager, Diane Curran, told the court “the boy is fully co-operating with all aspects of programme [and] has not caused us any problems in terms of his behaviour.”
Ms Curran said the boy has rebuilt a relationship with his family.
“He meets his mother in unsupervised visits twice per week. His mother has been extremely supportive,” she said.
Ms Curran said that the boy has also been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.
“It impacts on how he understands the world around him and how he can read social situations,” she said. “He struggles in social interactions and make mistakes without realising the implication of those mistakes. Since his diagnosis, he has been able to educate himself in relation to that,” she added.
The teenager turns 18 next year and Ms Curran said the centre is working on a future care plan, stating the boy will remain at the centre until future accommodation is identified.
Judge Carroll Moran made an order that the boy enter a bond to keep the peace for three years.
