A 16-year-old has received a suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting four women and one teenage girl last year.
The first sexual assault occurred on January 20th, 2015, when the teenager attacked a 39-year-old woman who was walking to work.
He grabbed her and said: “You don’t have to do anything, only touch my cock.”
The woman said she would not touch him, but he again tried to grab her.
She ran towards a house and he chased her, shouting that he would kill her.
In a later interview, the teenager said he had touched the woman’s bottom during the attack.
He was arrested on February 6th, 2015, and admitted the offenses.
He later pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to five counts of sexual assault in the Balbriggan area of Co Dublin.
The court heard that on January 24th, 2015, the teenager assaulted a 19-year-old woman, while she was walking with friends.
The teenager grabbed her and stuck his hands up between her legs.
The third assault occurred two days later, on January 26th, when the teenager attacked a 34-year-old woman, who was walking to the shops with her daughter.
He grabbed the woman, dragged her to the ground, and pressed her hard between her legs, through her clothes. The teenager then fled.
Assault on teenager
On February 1st, 2015, he sexually assaulted a girl who was 14 at the time.
The girl was walking with a friend in the afternoon when the teenager came up and pulled down her trousers and knickers.
He did not try to speak to or touch her before running away.
On February 5th 2015, the teenager sexually assaulted a 35-year-old woman, who was with her daughter, by pulling down her trousers. She screamed as he ran off.
Counsel for the teenager, Tara Burns SC, said the boy has made very strong efforts to get to grips with what occurred, and that he has taken steps to address the matter.
Judge Patrick McCartan imposed a sentence of 12-months’ detention suspended for two years, on condition that he completes the recovery programme in which he is currently participating.