Couple subjected child to ‘objective deprivation’, court told

A DUNGANNON couple who struggle with heroin addiction have been ordered to carry out community service after subjecting a young child to what a judge described as ‘objective deprivation’.

Appearing before Dungannon Magistrates Court was Jaime Filipe Nunes (54), of Castle Hill, and his partner and co-accused Ana Cirstina Da Silva Ferreira.

The court heard that on September 24, 2024, police received a call from social services, who raised concerns for a child who was on their own at the defendants’ address.

Upon entering the property, the child told social services, who expressed concern about the condition of the home, that her mother was ‘at the shop’.

Forty minutes later, Ferreira returned with no shopping and asked social services to leave.

The police were called and Ferreira was arrested.

She told police that whilst the house was ‘neglectful’, she did not see an issue.

Nunes was later arrested and pleaded guilty to a charge of cruelty, but told police he did not live at the property, describing himself as an ‘occasional visitor’.

Defence solicitors for both defendants cited addiction issues, most notably heroin addiction, as the reason for the state of the home, and further noted that they have since lost care of the child, having been granted supervised contact.

District Judge Rafferty said he had rarely seen ‘such deprivation’ and ‘abject surroundings’ for a child.

Judge Rafferty further noted that while police and social services ‘recoiled in horror’ at the state of the property, he accepted that both defendants were ‘enthralled by addiction’, describing it as a ‘difficult situation’.

He also mentioned the ‘juxtaposition’ between the child’s appearance and the state of the property, offering credit to the defendants and noted that neither of them had any significant record.

Both defendants were ordered to engage with Probation Services for two years and Ferreira was order to carry out 50 hours community service, while Nunes was handed 90 hours community service.