Boy pleads not guilty to swing attack

A 15-year-old boy has pleaded not guilty to attacking and injuring a girl on a playground swing.

The boy, then aged 14, denies assault causing harm to the girl, aged 14, on a date in June last year at a playground in north Dublin.

Judge John O’Connor ordered a trial would take place in mid-November at the Dublin Children’s Court. The judge had to decide whether the case should stay in the juvenile court or instead be sent forward to the circuit court, which can impose lengthier sentences. The teen’s solicitor said the schoolboy, who was accompanied to court by his parents, is waiting to be assessed to see if he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The issue of his concentration levels has been raised in school.