Young siblings in State care after 'extreme' sex abuse allegations against parents
A four-year-old girl and her seven-year-old brother are in State care this evening because of serious sexual abuse allegations against their mother and father.
The Child and Family Agency has secured an interim care order after the children's older brother made disclosures of violence and abuse at home that were described as "extreme" in the District Court.
In a DVD shown to the court, the couple's 11-year-old son described in detail sexual acts he alleges his mother and father carried out on his then two-year-old sister and four-year-old brother.
He told a specially trained garda that on one occasion he intervened and told his mother to abuse him instead.
The allegations of child sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect date to a time before the 11-year-old boy was taken into care, but he only made the disclosures last month.
The boy's parents strenuously denied the claims during a five-week legal battle but this evening the District Court ordered that their two younger children should be taken into care for the next 28 days.
The judge wants further assessments to take place, partly to assess the credibility of the allegations, but also due to possible safety concerns for the children.
He said he has reasonable cause to believe that all of the children in the family have been sexually abused or assaulted by their parents.
