Three teenagers have been jailed for their part in an an aggravated burglary during which threats were made to rape a woman and cut off her son’s finger with a meat cleaver.
Two accused were aged 16 and one aged 17 last November when they and two others broke down the door of the woman’s Dublin home and overpowered her before demanding money.
During the early morning raid, one raider, who has yet to be identified, took his penis out and said he would rape the woman while her 10-year-old son was present.
The victim said she was terrified during the 25 minute ordeal which only ended when she showed them where she had hidden €30,000 in cash takings from a restaurant.
She said after the burglary she was constantly thinking about it and was scared they would come back.
Liam Fox (18) of Rossfield Park, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to aggravated burglary and car theft at a house in Dublin on November 11th, 2014 . His only other convictions are for minor road traffic offences.
Two others, who cannot be identified as they are still juveniles, pleaded to the same offences. They have no previous convictions.
Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending Fox, said the three accused had embarked on a joint enterprise and this involved making threats but that it did not include the threat of rape.
Eilis Brennan BL, prosecuting, said the Director of Public Prosecutions now accepted the common design did not include the sexual threats.
Mr Ó Lideadha said there was no suggestion Fox carried out the “vile sexual acts”. He said his client was deeply remorseful and regrets what he did.
Judge Martin Nolan imposed custodial sentences of eight years with three and a half suspended on Fox and one of the other men. He imposed a sentence of eight years with three suspended on the other juvenile.
“If they were somewhat older and more mature the sentences would be more severe. Hopefully they can reform themselves,” he said. “What they did will have long term effects on the injured parties.”
One of the juveniles had also pleaded guilty to a burglary while the third man had admitted carrying out what the court described as a “spree of burglaries” around the same time.
The victim told gardaí that the raiders took turns in screaming at her asking where the money was.
She had around €30,000 cash in the house as takings from a local restaurant and one of the raiders knew about this.
The raiders tried to tie her hands with cable ties but she kept struggling and they gave up. They grabbed her and put a meat cleaver to her collarbone.
One raider threatened her with a steak knife. They kept asking her where the money was.
She told gardaí: “They said they would be killed if they didn’t get the money and they would have to kill her.”
One raider put her hand flat on a counter top and threatened to cut her finger off and to cut her son’s finger off. They also threatened to take her son away.
At one point the woman grabbed her son and tried to run out of the house. The 16-year-old grabbed her and dragged her back and hit her. He admitted threatening to cut her finger off.
One raider, who remains unidentified, took his penis out and gestured towards her and told her: “Give me the money or I’ll rape you.” She told gardaí that he pinched her genital area and she was absolutely terrified that he was going to rape her.
The victim said she could see the terror in her son’s face and she decided to tell them where the takings were. The raiders then pushed the two victims into the bathroom and left in the woman’s BMW. The ordeal lasted about 25 minutes.
Garda Ciaran Kilcoyne told Eilis Brennan BL, prosecuting, that one of the raiders was arrested while trying to burn clothes in the backyard of his home. The fire was picked up by the heat sensors of a Garda helicopter, which had been deployed soon after the burglary ended.
After his arrest, one of the 16-year-olds told gardaí it was his idea. He said he had watched the woman over the summer and knew her movements and knew her son would be at home.
He told gardaí “we had nothing else to do” and he told the others “they could be a millionaire tomorrow”. He said they hid near her house at around 7.30am and waited for her to come back from dropping her daughter off.
He said that they put on balaclavas before going to the house and kicking the door in. Asked if he was on drugs at the time he replied: “No, I go grafting with a simple head.”
He told gardai they split the stolen money between them and he “blew most of it” at a local off licence.
Mr Ó Lideadha, defending Fox, said Fox’s family had been under threat because of his client’s substantial drug debt at the time. He asked the judge to take into consideration his client’s young age, his lack of serious convictions and his admissions.
Padraig Dwyer SC, defending one of the juveniles, said his client wished to extend his apologies to the victim. He said the youth is now “committed to improving himself”. He asked the judge to have regard to his client’s young age and that detention should be a last resort under the Children Act.
Judge Nolan said that it seemed all of them were making efforts to reform themselves based on reports handed into court.
But he added that he does not think there is any guarantee of reform in relation to these men.” The crime is so serious that a custodial sentence must be imposed. What they did was unforgivable”.
The juveniles will serve their sentence initially in a detention centre while Fox will be imprisoned as an adult.