Cavan child minder will plead not guilty to causing serious harm

A 32-year-old Cavan child-minder has indicated she will plead not guilty to causing serious harm to a 10-month-old toddler when she appears before Cavan Circuit Court this November.

Sandra Higgins from The Beeches, Cavan Town, was charged with the alleged offence under Section 4 of the non Fatal Offences Against the Person, on March 28, 2012.
She appeared before Judge Sean MacBride at Cavan District Court today, flanked by her husband and a friend, for the service of a book of evidence. The court heard that the DPP would accept a written plea, but defence solicitor Martin Cosgrave indicated that his client would be pleading not guilty. Ms Higgins spoke only once, to confirm that she understood the alibi warning.
Bail conditions were ammended to permit Ms Higgins to travel outside the jurisdiction for one week in August for a family holiday. Conditions were also ammended to require the defendant to sign on at a garda station once every fortnight as opposed to once a week. 
Judge MacBride extended the legal aid certificate to include a junior and senior counsel given the gravity of the charge.