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'Terror like I've never known': criminal gets seven years for hijacking car with infant in back seat
Summary
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Noel Ryan, 48, pleaded guilty to hijacking a car and abducting a child. He took a vehicle in Mountjoy Square on 23 September 2024, leaving a five‑month‑old baby alone for almost three hours while the mother struggled to stop him. CCTV showed the mother holding the door as Ryan drove away, and the baby's tears were captured. Ryan used the mother's credit card 12 minutes after the theft. He was arrested the next day and admitted he did not know a child was in the car. The court heard victim impact statements from the mother and father, describing terror and lasting trauma. Judge Martin Nolan, noting Ryan's addiction and early guilty plea, imposed a headline sentence of nine and a half years, reduced to seven years in prison, back‑dated to his custody date.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 'Terror like I've never known': criminal gets seven years for hijacking car with infant in back seat. Charges or matters: one count of hijacking a vehicle and one count of abduction of a child at Mountjoy Square, Dublin, on September 23, 2024. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- September 23, 2024 Incident
- 2025-04-04 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: one count of hijacking a vehicle and one count of abduction of a child at Mountjoy Square, Dublin, on September 23, 2024 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: However, he also noted that "anyone informed by conscience would have put the car in some place it could have been found more easily." Judge Nolan set a headline sentence of nine and a half years; after considering the mitigating factor, he sentenced Ryan to seven years in prison backdated to when he went into custody on this matter.
Places mentioned
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Mountjoy Square
- Richmond Street
- Clarence Street
Topics
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