A 15-year-old boy has been refused bail on charges of assault causing harm and possession of a knife, because gardaí fear he may commit murder if released from custody.
The teenager was remanded in custody after a 90-minute hearing at Dublin Metropolitan District Court sitting as Dublin Children’s Court. He appeared in relation to an alleged assault on a woman in her 20s at Queen’s Road, Dún Laoghaire on Saturday.
He was charged under Section 3 of the Offences Against the Person Act with assault causing harm and charged under Section 11 of the Firearms Act, for possession of a knife.
The boy, wearing a brown T-shirt, beige jumper and jeans sat in court with his parents during the bail hearing and his mother held her arm around him during a recess while Judge Brian O’Shea considered his ruling.
The teenager’s mother left the court in tears after the hearing on St Stephen’s day at the Criminal Courts of Justice.
The accused has no previous convictions, no motions under appeal and is not a drug addict, the court heard.
The boy cannot be identified because he is under 18 years of age and usual reporting restrictions applied.
Social media
The court heard that the alleged victim and the accused made contact on social media through the Whisper App and the exchange of a series of texts.
During the exchange of messages the alleged victim obtained photos of him and later identified him from the photos to gardaí. CCTV footage was also obtained.
In his ruling the judge said there is a constitutional right to liberty, but in cases of serious offences detention had to be considered and this was a serious charge.
The judge said Detective Garda Daniel Treacy, who gave evidence at an in camera hearing from which reporters were excluded, had 13 years experience as a detective and was involved in eight homicide cases. “To say he is experienced is an understatement,” the judge said.
Citing the garda’s evidence the judge said later, when media were permitted to enter the court to report on his ruling, the accused lured the complainant to a series of abandoned locations and assaulted the victim with a transverse laceration to the neck and “choked her to within an inch of her life to the extent that a tear was released from her eye”.
She also received a laceration to her thumb, a defensive wound, the court heard.
Gardaí fear the accused is likely to commit murder if released on bail, the judge said, and he believed the refusal of bail was the appropriate adjudication.
The teenager was remanded in custody to Oberstown to appear again at the Dublin Children’s Court on January 2nd at 10.30am.
