Teen burglar who threatened woman gets 20-month sentence

A teenage burglar, who held a woman up in her house and threatened to stab her, has been given a 20-month sentence, by Judge Angela Ní Chonduin, at the Dublin Children’s Court.

During a cocaine-fuelled burglary, on the morning of New Year’s Day, the 16-year-old boy had broken into a house in Lucan through an upstairs bathroom window.

Prosecuting Garda Donal Daly said the boy then encountered the woman who lives in the house and produced a screwdriver.

"A number of threats were made to the woman that she would be stabbed," Garda Daly said.

After threatening the woman, the boy made off with her laptop worth E1,500 and he also stole her car, Judge Ní Chonduin was told.

The teenager had pleaded guilty yesterday to a charge of burgling the house and for theft of the car, on January 1 last.

Shortly after this offence the boy, who has been in care for most of his life, had been sentenced to two years in the Trinity House detention centre for other crimes.

However recently the court had heard that during the last three months, he had attacked care workers there eight times, had been keeping weapons and was out of control.

The detention centre’s deputy director had earlier asked to have the boy removed from their custody saying that if they had to take him back it would be necessary to close down eight beds in the unit to control him.

"We have given him every chance, we have tried everything with him, if he comes back today it would require closing down a unit of eight beds to look after him," the Trinity House deputy director, Damien Hernon, had told the court earlier.

"We can’t contain him, there is a history of assault and aggressive behaviour that we cannot manage," he had also said.

The court was told yesterday that the possibility of the boy returning to Trinity House was no longer an issue as he had pleaded guilty and was prepared for a sentence in St Patrick’s Institution.

He already had 23 previous convictions for assaults, car thefts, criminal damage and public order offences.

Judge Ní Chonduin read reports on the boy’s background and conduct in Trinity House and remarked that she found elements of the report disturbing.

"That report is scary, I am inclined to give a long sentence," she said.

Pleading for leniency, defence solicitor, Mr John Quinn, said that throughout the teenager’s life he had been in various care homes and detention centres.

He had also developed a drug addiction and had been under influence of cocaine when he committed the burglary.

Mr Quinn said that while the boy had been involved in serious offences, he has had a troubled background although he had also brought a lot of trouble on himself.

Noting the pleas for leniency and the boy’s troubled history, as well as taking into consideration the boy’s guilty plea, Judge Ni Chonduin imposed a 20-month sentence in St Patrick’s Institution.

He had been put in Trinity House in January after because the staff in Oberstown Boys Centre were afraid of him.

Earlier the court was told that while in custody in Oberstown Boys Centre, the boy had bullied, harassed and attacked several members of staff in the unit - with one of them having to take sick leave because of his injuries.