Omagh man jailed for leaving kids home alone to go and buy drugs

AN Omagh man has been jailed for five months after leaving his young children home alone while he went out to buy drugs.

The man also threatened his partner to withdraw her statement following his arrest.

He appeared at Omagh Magistrates Court last week, where he pleaded guilty to the remaining charges.

The defendant cannot be named in order to protect the identity of his children,

The incident occurred on March 28, when police were contacted by the defendant’s partner after one of her children was reported missing from school.

The woman, who had spent the night in hospital with another child, discovered that her eldest had not arrived at school as expected.

Police visited the family home and were met at the door by a distressed five-year-old.

Inside, officers found half-empty cans of beer. The children, aged five and one, were hungry, and the youngest had removed their soiled nappy.

The eldest child told police the defendant had left the house during the night.

A few hours earlier, the man had been arrested for drink-driving on the Great Northern Road after a woman reported him to police.

She told officers that the defendant had contacted her in the middle of the night seeking drugs and sexual acts.

Although he was unable to obtain drugs, she confirmed that a sex act took place before he left.

At no point during his arrest did he inform police that his children had been left alone.

The man was subsequently charged with two counts of child cruelty, drink driving, and driving without a licence.

Months later, on September 29, his partner received a phone call during which the man threatened her and called her abusive names, saying she would ‘pay for everything’ if she didn’t withdraw her statement.

Defence counsel Brian O’Sullivan told the court that his client had been in a ‘poor psychological place’ at the time and wished to apologise to the court, police and his ex-partner.

He added that the man had been sober for the past four months and regretted his actions.

District Judge Ted Magill said immediate custody was the only appropriate sentence, describing the defendant’s behaviour as ‘utterly unacceptable’.

He noted the man had prioritised drugs and sex over the care of his children and failed to alert police to the fact they were alone.

The defendant was sentenced to five months in prison, disqualified from driving for three years, fined £250, and handed a two-year restraining order to protect his former partner.