Courts / Dublin / Report

On-the-run arsonist who brutally attacked woman who'd 'opened her home and heart' is jailed

Date
2023-12-21

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

Soufiane Mountassir, 39, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for false imprisonment and assault causing harm after he attacked a woman who had let him into her home. The court heard that on the night of 13 November 2022 he forced the woman into the boot of her car, repeatedly punched and smashed her face against the vehicle's interior, and drove the car onto the footpath, damaging the wheel. Witnesses described him as "full of anger" and "entering into a blind rage", and the victim said she was left with blood all over her face and body. Mountassir pleaded guilty, was described as remorseful and ashamed, and the judge noted his lack of prior convictions in Ireland. He is currently under 23‑hour protection in Wheatfield Prison and is wanted in Germany for arson. The sentence was back‑dated to the date he entered custody on 13 November 2022.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: On-the-run arsonist who brutally attacked woman who'd 'opened her home and heart' is jailed. Charges or matters: false imprisonment in Dublin 8 and assault causing harm on Blackhall Street, Dublin 7 in the early hours of November 13 last year. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

November 13 Incident
November 13, 2022 Incident
2023-12-21 Publication

Case subjects

Soufiane Mountassir

Accused

Charges: false imprisonment in Dublin 8 and assault causing harm on Blackhall Street, Dublin 7 in the early hours of November 13 last year (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: She sentenced him to three years imprisonment, backdating the sentence to when he went into custody on November 13, 2022. The court heard Mountassir was sentenced previously to three years and one month in Germany for arson, but was released before the sentence was re-imposed.; He was also remanded for part of his sentence to a psychiatric hospital, the court heard.