Teen vandal ordered to pay CIE for smashing wall
A teenage vandal has been ordered to pay €250 compensation to CIE for smashing down a wall on their land with a sledgehammer.
Dublin Children’s Court was told that the wall, situated at Spencer Dock, had been built to plug a gap leading onto CIE land where teenagers take vehicles for joyrides.
But every time it is rebuilt at a cost of E5,000, youths smash it down within a short space of time so they can drive vehicles on the land, the court had heard.
The boy, aged 15, had been with a group of 15 teenagers who on March 5 last were smashing down the wall.
The teenager had pleaded guilty to the criminal damage charge.
He had two previous convictions for handling stolen goods and burglary for which he had been given the probation act just over two weeks before he had damaged the wall.
The other teenagers involved were younger and have been cautioned through the Garda’s Juvenile Liaison Scheme.
The teenager, described as the ringleader of the group, had left school early without formal qualifications but had recently secured a part-time job.
Earlier the boy’s mother had explained to the court that the boy had been involved in these type of activities simply because there was nothing else for young people his age to do.
However this was refuted by the prosecuting garda who said that there are plenty of young people from the same are who live law abiding lives.
The court also heard yesterday that the boy comes from a impoverished family whose finances are extremely limited.
Judge Angela Ni Chonduin noted the boy and his family’s money problems and ordered him to pay €250, for his role in the vandalism.
Judge Ni Chonduin said she wanted the money to come out of the boy’s pocket and not his mother's.
The teenager was granted bail and the case was adjourned until September 1 next for the compensation to be lodged in court.
