Boy, 13, who sexually assaulted student in Cork had been watching porn since he was 11

The judge called for more rigorous restrictions on companies that "are making vast sums of money from selling pornographic material".

The attacker who is now aged 15 was sentenced by Judge Catherine Staines to 18 months in Oberstown centre. File picture

WARNING: Readers may find the following article upsetting

A 13-year-old boy who carried out a vicious attack with a sexual element on a final-year college student walking home in Cork had been viewing pornography from the age of 11, and now the sentencing judge has called for restrictions on online platforms making vast sums of money from pornography being shown to vulnerable children.

The attacker who is now aged 15 was sentenced by Judge Catherine Staines to 18 months in Oberstown centre.

Judge Staines said: “One disturbing element is that you (the accused) have been watching pornography from the age of 11. I think it is truly shocking that this is available to vulnerable, impressionable young people. Clearly these companies are making vast sums of money from selling pornographic material.

“More rigorous restrictions should be imposed on them to prevent this harmful material being available to young children.” 

Siobhán Lankford, defence senior counsel, asked for a suspended or deferred sentence in the case, stating that there was no denying the seriousness of the attack but submitting that because the accused was a child at the time of the offence and is still a child in the eyes of the law, a sentence of detention should only be a matter of last resort. She said he was never in trouble before or since this attack.

He cried in the dock when sentence was passed as did his parents who were present. The victim also wiped away tears during the case. He admitted the violent attack but denied the sexual assault during it. A jury found him guilty of the sexual assault.

The victim was so badly beaten that on the night of the attack she was at first unable to unlock her phone to ring her parents because the facial recognition software on her phone did not recognise her.

He had repeatedly kicked her face and dragged her along the ground by her hair when she lay face down on the footpath. A woman driving by saw that the young woman’s long dress was above her waist and her panties were down, exposing her genital area. It happened on Evergreen Street, Cork, on January 29, 2022, as she walked home from a friend’s birthday in town.

Victim impact statement

The victim said on Friday: “When I look back to that time, just over a year ago, my life was going well. I was enjoying my final year of college, spending my time between my friends and work. I could not have imagined how much my life was going to change.

“I don’t remember much of the attack, but I do remember the aftermath. I remember being in the hospital and really seeing my face close-up. I was in complete shock. I didn’t look or feel like myself. It was maybe a few months later before the reality of what was done to me set in.

“At first, I felt really stressed and uncomfortable, but I was determined not to let what had happened to me control my life.

I continue to walk places by myself but still find it hard to relax, even walking during the day if I hear or think I hear footsteps. I find it hard to breathe and start panicking, it feels like I’m back in the moment I was being assaulted. 

I usually wait for the person to pass me in order to try to calm down. If I have earphones in, I need to check over my shoulder every other minute to make sure there’s nobody behind me.

“I would say I have a good relationship with my family and they have helped me hugely over the last year. I have noticed the impact that this has had on them. No matter where I go my parents won’t fall asleep until I’m home and they feel they need to check in on me, day and night. I know they worry about how deeply this has affected me.

“This assault has affected my personal relationships. I find it hard to hug or be close to my male friends or family members whereas I used to be the opposite. The idea of having a romantic relationship in the near future makes me feel physically uncomfortable. I now feel extremely anxious when passing teenage or young boys – for a minute, my heart starts to race and my chest feels tight.

“Every now and again, I feel extremely angry. I feel angry that this was done to me while I was doing something so basic that everyone has a right to do. I feel angry that my sense of safety has been taken away from me. Simple things like watching a movie can throw me completely off for days because something mildly violent happened. 

"It angers me that it has made me second-guess everyone I walk past and myself for how I react. I’m also angry about the domino effect that this has had on the people around me, how it has affected them and how it has changed how they are around me.

“There hasn’t been one day that has passed that I haven’t thought about what happened: it has changed me and I’m still dealing with it but I know that I won’t let it control me forever.” 

The injured party thanked the Sexual Violence Centre and gardaí at Anglesea Street garda station especially Garda Pat Russell, Garda Brian Maher and Detective Sergeant Katrine Tansley.

- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.