Bouchaker sentencing decision pending after parents address court

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

At a sentencing hearing on Monday, parents of children injured in the Parnell Square attack and childcare worker Leanne Flynn gave victim impact statements at the Central Criminal Court. Riad Bouchaker, 52, was convicted last July of eight offences, including attempting to murder three children. Judge Tony Hunt said he would deliver the sentencing decision at a later date.

The court heard that one child, now eight, was severely disabled after being stabbed, and her parents said they would care for her for the rest of their lives. Flynn, who suffered serious stab injuries while protecting the children, told the court that the attack had drastically changed her family’s life. Bouchaker’s barrister asked the judge to consider his cognitive and intellectual limitations when sentencing him. The maximum sentence for attempted murder is life imprisonment.