Dublin youth walks free after stabbing due to technicality

A Dublin youth, who laughed after he stabbed a young man with a flick-knife and left him for dead, has walked free from court on a technicality.

The boy, who is in his mid-teens and cannot be identified because he is a juvenile, had pleaded guilty in November at the Dublin Children’s Court to assaulting the male causing him serious harm on a date last year.

He used a flick-knife to stab the young man who suffered a severed artery and was left fighting for his life for two days. The teen had gone through a full trial and had reached sentencing stage when the case was dropped at the request of the DPP.

The DPP had reviewed the matter because the teenager had not been considered for inclusion in a garda crime diversion programme before he was charged and criminal proceedings were instituted.

On Thursday defence solicitor Gareth Noble said the case had not been processed in the appropriate manner through the Garda Juvenile Liaison Office (JLO) programme which diverts young people from the criminal justice system.

A State solicitor confirmed that was correct and said “the DPP is asking the court to discontinue the proceedings and strike out the matter.”

Judge O’Connor agreed to strike it out but said all cases involving minors first need to go through the Garda JLO. “It is regrettable the case should have proceeded in this court without that formality being dealt with, it is just a formality,” he said.

This refers to a procedure where all young offenders are assessed to see if they deserve a chance to be cautioned through the Garda crime diversion programme instead of prosecution in court which carries the risk of a criminal record and a custodial sentence.

The youth, who was accompanied to court by his mother, remained silent throughout the proceedings and showed no emotion as the case was dropped.

During his hearing in November, Judge O’Connor had said reports furnished to the court indicated the boy may fall into the “once off” category of offenders. He had also noted the teenager had “significant mental health issues” including Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

He had also said the teen’s problems had been worsened by drugs, alcohol and his risk-taking, which led to poor peer pressure and falling out of education.

Garda Sergeant Declan Boland had told the court a young man, aged 18, had been watching TV when the defendant arrived and a "verbal argument erupted".

The boy, “produced a flick-knife” and stabbed the victim once to the left hand side of his chest and then left the scene. The victim, a student, who was left on his own in the house, made his way to the kitchen to use the land-line to call for help but became too weak and “fell to the floor”.

The young man used his mobile phone to call for help and was rushed to hospital suffering from internal bleeding. Emergency surgery was carried out and “repaired a severed artery to his heart and a lung injury”. He was in intensive care for 48 hours and remained in hospital for another four days.

Garda Sgt Boland had said the injury was caused, “by a single puncture wound with a blade up to six inches in length”.

The victim made a full recovery but was extremely upset and angry. “He realised the seriousness of what happened to him, that he could have died,” the sergeant had said.

In his statement the injured man described how the teenage defendant laughed as he fled the scene and “said he would not be back”.

Garda Sgt Boland had agreed with defence solicitor Gareth Noble that when later arrested the boy expressed remorse for his actions. The victim has not had contact with him since, the court has also heard.

Mr Noble had furnished the court with assessment reports on the boy’s diagnosis and had said that the incident led to the teenager getting additional, specialist help for his problems. He had also said a professor’s report outlined his level of understanding, lack of empathy and communication issues.

The assault offence can carry a life sentence in the Circuit Court, which is where the DPP had originally recommended the boy should be tried due to the seriousness of the attack.

However after hearing details of the offence as well as legal submissions and noting comprehensive medical reports on victim’s injuries and the defendant’s mental health problems, Judge O’Connor had accepted jurisdiction for the case to be dealt with in the Children’s Court which can impose a maximum two-year sentence.