Derry Court: 50-year-old man admits three counts of child cruelty

A 50-year-old man will be sentenced at Derry Magistrate's Court in September after admitting three counts of child cruelty.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victims in the case, appeared charged with three counts of cruelty to a child under 16 in relation to his three children.

All of the charges relate to dates between January 1 2014 and June 30 2019.

The court was told that police were referred to the case by Social Services who said that the children had disclosed domestic abuse by their father. 

At interview the man made admissions. 

District Judge Oonagh Mullan asked was the mother of the children aware of what was going on and asked was there any further prosecutions pending. 

She was told that there were no prosecutions pending and the defendant has no contact with the children who are in their mother's custody. 

The judge read out some of the facts of the case where one of the children was called down the stairs and then their father banged their head off a door. 

On another occasion the mother related how the man would smash dinner plates into the children's faces and would slap them about the head. 

The judge said that it appeared that this man had mental health issues. 

Defence counsel Fergal McCormack said that was one of the issues needed to explored in a pre-sentence report. 

Judge Mullan said: "I have to say this is a case that crosses the custody threshold this behaviour cannot be excused or condoned in any fashion." 

The defendant was released on bail pending the preparation of a pre-sentence report until September 1.