Woman accused of abducting child released on bail
The alleged incident resulted in a temporary lockdown of the Park Centre on Monday
- Published
A woman accused of abducting a one-year-old boy at a west Belfast shopping centre has been released on bail.
Noeleen Creen, 38, carried the boy from a store inside the Park Centre before his mother managed to snatch him back, the city’s magistrates court was told earlier this week.
Ms Creen, of Bunbeg Park in Belfast, was arrested after the incident led to a temporary lockdown of the centre on Monday afternoon.
In interviews following her arrest the accused provided a “disjointed” account without a clear recollection of the incident, a court previously heard.
She claimed to have drunk half a bottle of vodka the previous night, visited a friend in hospital and then went to the shopping centre.
Asked to explain her actions, Ms Creen said: “Maybe the child was upset, I was comforting him.”
She denied trying to leave the centre with the infant but was remanded in custody on a single charge of child abduction.
'Spur of the moment'
On Thursday, a judge held the view that the circumstances surrounding the incident do not indicate any serious risk to the public.
“It appears to have occurred not as a planned event, but rather a spur of the moment or spontaneous event," Madam Justice McBride told the High Court.
Granting bail, the judge banned Ms Creen from drinking in public and ordered her to seek medical help within a week.
“This is a case which [appears] very alarming,” Madam Justice McBride said.
“But in terms of the facts I am satisfied they don’t indicate there is a very serious risk to the public.
“It was of short duration and probably precipitated by the fact the applicant was under the influence and she is someone who has an addiction problem.”