A MAN accused of abducting a child from a local care home has been re-released on bail.
Alioune Sow (19), whose address is given as the Clinton Centre, Enniskillen, is charged with child abduction. He is due to contest the charge.
The charge relates to September 2024 when a children’s home raised concerns about the defendant who was in a relationship with a 15-year-old girl in their care.
Sow was previously released on bail, but was taken back into custody after the child reported he had contacted her online.
At Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Sow appeared via video link from Hydebank Young Offenders Centre, where he had been in custody since being remanded in February.
A detective told the court police were concerned Sow, who has 37 previous convictions, would not comply with his bail conditions if released on bail.
Defence barrister Gavyn Cairns applied for bail on Sow’s behalf on the basis he had already spent over six weeks in custody on remand.
Noting the maximum sentence for the charge against Sow was six months, half of which would be on licence, Mr Cairns said in reality this meant he had served a significant period of the maximum sentence he could be given if found guilty.
Referring to Sow’s previous record, Mr Cairns said it was reflective of someone who was brought up in a children’s home.
Mr Cairns said the Clinton Centre, where Sow had previously resided, was available as a bail address.
The detective noted police would prefer Sow was released to a different address, as there had been issues carrying out bail checks at the centre previously, but noted no other address was available for him.
District Judge Alana McSorely stated this was “not a straight forward child abduction case”, where there a number of legal issues at play. As such, she granted the bail application.
Sow was released on his own bail of £200, with a number of conditions, including a nightly curfew and a ban on him being in contact with anyone under 18 without supervision.
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere