A 13-year-old boy was given suspended sentences totaling 18 months at Dundalk Circuit Court yesterday after being found guilty of acting as a look-out for a group involved in stealing over €25,000 worth of equipment from O Fiaich College.
LMFM radio reported this morning that the court were told that the accused had been abusing drugs since aged 11 and that he became involved in crime to either get money to buy cannabis or to pay off drug debts.
The court heard that the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, acted as a look-out for a group of older youths who broke into the Hoey’s Lane school on two occasions in February.
The group stole more than €25,000 worth of Apple computers and equipment from the school’s multi-media room.
As well as admitting a charge of trespassing on both dates, the 13-year-old also pleaded guilty to stealing a bottle of whiskey from Lidl on the Long Avenue last August and trespassing at a house in College Manor on Hoey’s Lane last September.
After being assured that the boy’s mother was making every effort to divert the child away from the path he has been on, Judge Michael O’Shea sentenced him to a total of 18 months detention, which was suspended on him entering a good behaviour bond which ensures he must engage with various support groups and go to counselling.
