Parnell Square stabbing victims' families describe lasting trauma in court statements

Child victims of the 2023 Dublin attack on Parnell Square relived their trauma in court. Sentencing for Riad Bouchaker is set for November 16th.

Child victims of Parnell Square attack recount trauma in court

Parents of children injured in the Parnell Square attack in Dublin have delivered harrowing victim impact statements at the Central Criminal Court, the Irish Times reports, as the case against convicted attacker Riad Bouchaker (52) moves toward sentencing.

One mother said her family's life had changed "unrecognisably" since the attack on November 23rd, 2023. Her daughter, now eight years old, was left severely disabled after being stabbed and will require lifelong care. "We need to be sure she will be looked after when we are gone," the mother's statement read, as delivered by Detective Garda Shimna Ní Mháirtin during Monday's hearing.

Another mother, whose daughter sustained a head injury in the attack, called Bouchaker a "monster" who had "stolen the innocence" of the 13 children who witnessed what she described as his "evil and cowardly" actions. "He is the monster that haunts our nightmares," she said.

Childcare worker Leanne Flynn, who was stabbed while attempting to shield the children from Bouchaker, said her life, and that of her partner and two young children, had been drastically altered. Speaking directly to Bouchaker in court, she told him that "harming innocent children is unforgivable".

Bouchaker, a native of Algeria with no fixed abode, was convicted of eight offences in connection with the attack, including the attempted murder of three children — a five-year-old girl left severely injured, a six-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy. He was also found guilty of intentionally inflicting serious harm on Flynn, and will be sentenced for assault causing harm to two further children.

The six-year-old girl underwent surgery to repair a non-penetrative laceration to her scalp and the dislodging of a skull fragment, and was discharged from hospital the following day. The five-year-old boy sustained a nick to his neck, treated with paper stitches, and had three holes in the hood of his jacket.

A third child, a six-year-old girl, suffered a bump to her head, a nick behind her ear and a clump of hair cut. Her mother told the court that, while lying on the ground at Parnell Square during the attack, the child had said Bouchaker "looked like a real man but he was actually a bad man" — and that the day was "more worser than any bad days". The girl continues to be afraid of crowds and loud noises.

A five-year-old boy, another of those assaulted, had a small cut and graze under his arm as well as slashes to his clothing. His mother said Bouchaker had left her son and the other children with "terrifying memories that haunt them to this day".

Addressing Bouchaker in Irish, that mother said she, like him, was an immigrant to Ireland. "I have such a depth of dread that you will ever walk the streets of Ireland again," she told him.

Judge Tony Hunt is due to rule on sentencing on November 16th. The attack in 2023 was followed by serious rioting in Dublin on the same evening.

Source: Irish Times