Boy part of gang that threatened to cut woman’s fingers off

A 16-year-old boy charged with taking part in a traumatising aggravated burglary in Dublin is to face Circuit Court trial, a judge has ruled.

It is alleged a knife-armed gang threatened to chop off a woman’s fingers in front of her young son and told her they would do the same to the boy.

The teenage defendant, who cannot be identified because he is a juvenile, is charged with aggravated burglary in connection with the incident at a house in Citywest Dublin on November 11th last. He is also accused of unlawfully travelling as a passenger in a stolen vehicle on the same date.

Judge John O’Connor held that the case was too serious to be dealt with in the Dublin Children’s Court.

He refused jurisdiction meaning the case will be sent forward to the Circuit Court, which has tougher sentencing powers.

The teenager, who was accompanied to court by a family member and his lawyer, was further remanded in custody with consent to bail and will appear again on February 20th for a book of evidence to be served on him.

The boy has not yet entered a plea.

In an outline of the evidence, Garda Kieran Kilcoyne has said a woman, in her mid-30s, had been at home with her 10-year-old son when heard a loud bang outside at at 7.50am. She tried to hold her front door shut but five males gained entry and "over-powered" her.

“She was then dragged to the kitchen by two or three males who tried to tie her hands with cables ties, one took a meat cleaver, the second took a steak knife,” Gda Kilcoyne had said.

He had said the gang put her hand flat on to a counter and threatened to cut her fingers off while the “injured party’s son was in her arms”.

They then threatened to do the same to the boy after which the woman and her son attempted to flee but the gang of burglars “dragged her back”, the garda had said.

Gda Kilcoyne had described it as a “horrific ordeal of violence”.

They threatened to kill her and her son, or to take him away if she did not tell them where money was kept in the house, it was also alleged.

It was also alleged a phone, iPad, a laptop, a BMW car and €30,800 were taken during the incident which lasted 20 minutes.

Gda Kilcoyne also said it was alleged the boy’s role was to search the house while accomplices threatened the woman and her son.

A second youth is also before the courts in connection with the burglary.