A burglar who slit a French woman's face from her ear to her chin while robbing her home has been jailed for 10 years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Kieran O'Connor described the attack as "horrific" and said he hated to think what opinion the victim now held of Ireland.
Conor Lynch also stabbed a soldier in the stomach and held a knife to another woman's face during separate robberies.
Lynch (21), of Edenmore Gardens, Edenmore, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary at Edenmore Avenue, Dublin, on September 25th, 1998, as well as assault, robbery and attempted robbery on August 4th, 1997, on Raheny Road.
Garda Dermot Nolan told the court Lynch broke into the home of a French woman, Ms Nadine Beliot, at 12.30 a.m. He went to her bedroom, woke her up and demanded house keys, jewellery and cash.
She saw he was carrying either a screwdriver or a knife and agreed to go downstairs to get £100 cash. When they reached the hallway, Ms Beliot struggled free and Lynch slit her face.
He fled and was later identified by gardai. Garda Padraig Hanly said that a month previously Lynch held a knife to a woman's face and stole her purse. Minutes later he stabbed the soldier, Mr David O'Shaughnessy, in the stomach during an attempted robbery.
The court heard that Lynch is currently serving a six-year prison sentence on another serious assault charge.
Judge O'Connor told Lynch that if he had not pleaded guilty, he would have received a much longer sentence. He set a sentence review for December 4th, 2000, and told Lynch there was no guarantee that he would be released on that date.
He also ordered that Lynch undergo psychiatric treatment and anger management courses while in prison.