Parnell Square stabbing victims' parents speak at Riad Bouchaker sentencing

Parents of three children stabbed by Riad Bouchaker in Dublin told the Central Criminal Court their lives have become "unrecognisable". Bouchaker was convicted in July of attempting to murder three children on Parnell Square in November 2023.

Parents describe lasting devastation at Bouchaker sentencing hearing

The life of a five-year-old girl stabbed in Dublin's Parnell Square in November 2023 has become "unrecognisable", the Central Criminal Court heard on Monday, as limerickleader.ie reports on the sentencing hearing of her attacker, Riad Bouchaker.

The girl, who was five at the time of the attack, suffered a severe and lifelong disability after her brain was deprived of oxygen for 40 minutes. Now aged eight, she is non-verbal and communicates only by blinking, uses a wheelchair, and must be fed through a stomach tube because she cannot swallow safely.

Her mother's victim impact statement, read to the court by Detective Garda Shimna Ní Mháirtín, said: "In a way she died during those 40 minutes. A piece of myself and my husband and family also died that day."

On 1 July, a Central Criminal Court jury unanimously convicted Bouchaker, 52, of attempting to murder three children during the knife attack on 23 November 2023 — an attack that triggered rioting and looting across Dublin city. He was convicted of the attempted murder of the five-year-old girl, who was stabbed in the heart, and the attempted murders of a five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl.

Boy's mother confronts Bouchaker directly

The mother of the boy who was attacked turned her chair to face Bouchaker as she delivered her statement. She challenged his account given to An Garda Síochána, in which he reportedly said he was glad the children were all okay.

"I've never heard such bulls*** in all my life," she said. "You grabbed him by the jumper, and you plunged a knife towards his chest."

She described the ongoing trauma her son carries, recounting him asking at a birthday party: "Mama is a bad man going to come to this party and try to kill us all?"

"I cannot fathom this level of evil," she said. "You are an extremely dangerous man, and I have no doubt that given the chance you would do this all over again."

She said she remains uncertain about the long-term impact on her son. "I simply don't know the extent to which he'll be victimised by what you did. How will he process this when he's 10? How will he process this when he's 15?"

Bouchaker looked to the ground as she spoke.

Six-year-old girl left with scarred skull

The court also received a written statement from the mother of the six-year-old girl, who sustained a 10cm cut to the back of her head so deep it chipped her skull. The girl, now nine, continues to freeze in public after years of nightmares and trauma.

"We are blessed that her wound healed and her scar is at the back of her head, so she doesn't see it in the mirror every day," her mother said.

She described the moment she dropped her daughter off on the day of the attack. "I kissed her goodbye telling her to have a good day. I never imagined what was going to happen and how our lives were going to change."

Referring to Bouchaker, she said: "This monster stole that innocence from them. I say monster because that's what he is. The monster that haunts her nightmares."

Carer Leanne Flynn describes life-altering injuries

Bouchaker was also convicted in July of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to childcare worker Leanne Flynn, whom he stabbed in the left side of her body as she intervened to shield the children. All of the parents thanked Flynn for her actions, saying her bravery saved their children's lives.

Flynn told the court her life had been "changed drastically". She sustained a severed diaphragm, collapsed lungs and required the removal of her spleen. She received a blood transfusion and was resuscitated on the operating table. After a month in hospital and 18 months of recovery, she said she can no longer lift her children and is uncertain whether she will return to work.

"Simply lifting my finger felt like I was being hit by a train," she said.

Flynn also described the psychological toll on her family. She has been diagnosed with PTSD; her son has developed severe separation anxiety; and her partner continues to suffer after having to identify her "lifeless body in A&E". For months, she said, she did not feel safe leaving her house, and when she did, her "head was constantly on a swivel".

Addressing Bouchaker directly, she said: "I hope whatever god you believe in, Riad, he doesn't forgive you because harming children is unforgivable."

Evidence and background

Bouchaker was also found guilty in July of assault causing harm to a further boy and girl, aged five and six respectively, as well as to a French teenager who intervened as he passed by, and of producing the 36cm kitchen knife used in the attack.

Before the victim impact statements, prosecuting barrister Karl Finnegan SC ran evidence already heard by the court past Detective Sergeant Padraig Cleary for confirmation. The court was shown approximately two minutes of CCTV footage depicting children waiting on Parnell Square before the attack began. Evidence was also heard regarding Bouchaker's movements in the lead-up to the assault and the witness accounts of gardaí and medical personnel who attended the scene.

Bouchaker's barrister — whose identity the judge ordered cannot be disclosed for safety reasons — then reiterated elements of evidence on behalf of his client. The defence team previously submitted that Bouchaker's cognitive function, memory, concentration, communication and decision-making had been impaired by a cognitive condition, worsened when he struck his head during the incident. Detective Cleary confirmed that Bouchaker admitted to being the person who engaged with the children at the scene.

Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)