A sentencing hearing for Riad Bouchaker, who was found guilty of the attempted murder of three young children at Dublin’s Parnell Square, is to be held on Monday.
One child, then a five-year-old girl, suffered what doctors described as “lifelong” and “life-limiting” severe brain and other injuries, requiring 24-hour care when she was stabbed in the heart on November 23rd, 2023.
The two other children subject to the attempted murder charges were a five-year-old girl and six-year-old boy. The girl underwent surgery to repair a non-penetrating laceration to her scalp and dislodging of a skull fragment and was discharged the following day.
The boy had a nick on his neck that was treated with paper stitches, and three holes in the hood of his jacket.
Bouchaker (52) of no fixed abode, was found guilty by unanimous jury verdict at the Central Criminal Court in July of eight charges, including the attempted murder charges, connected with the attack at Parnell Square that sparked riots in Dublin that night.
Bouchaker, a naturalised Irish citizen who is originally from Algeria, had denied all eight charges.
The jury found him guilty of intentionally inflicting serious harm on childcare worker Leanne Flynn, who suffered serious injuries after being stabbed in the back when she tried to protect the children.
Bouchaker was found guilty of assault causing harm to two other children.
The jury also found him guilty of assault, causing harm to a French teenage chef, Alan Lorena Guille, who had minor scratches to his hand and face after wrenching the knife from Bouchaker’s hand.
He was also found guilty of producing a 36cm knife capable of inflicting serious injury.
Judge Tony Hunt is to hear victim impact statements on Monday before considering a sentence.
During a pretrial hearing, two psychiatrists disagreed on Bouchaker’s fitness to plead arising from an acquired brain injury, caused by pre-existing cognitive impairment combined with injuries suffered during interventions by members of the public at Parnell Square. He spent about three weeks in hospital after the incident.
Hunt ruled he was fit to stand trial with the assistance of an interpreter and an intermediary.