The Court of Appeal has reduced the effective prison sentence imposed on Lounes Ouachek for the attempted murder of his wife at their former home in Tallaght.
Ouachek pleaded guilty to attempted murder after repeatedly striking Ruta Ouachek on the head with a kettlebell at 2 St Dominic’s Terrace on 23 August 2012. She escaped into a bathroom and locked herself inside, where Gardaí found her seriously injured several hours later after neighbours raised the alarm.
Mrs Ouachek suffered extensive skull and facial fractures and brain injuries. She required surgery and weeks in hospital, while her daughter was temporarily placed in foster care. The judgment records continuing physical difficulties and post-traumatic stress symptoms.
After the attack, Ouachek travelled directly to Dublin Airport and flew to Tunisia via Paris. A European arrest warrant was issued and he was arrested in Germany in February 2013 before being surrendered to Ireland the following month. He pleaded guilty in the Central Criminal Court in May 2014.
The sentencing judge selected a 15-year term and suspended the final three years, taking account of Ouachek’s guilty plea, previous good character and status as a foreign national.
The Court of Appeal rejected arguments that this starting point was too high. Although the attack was not shown to have been pre-planned, the court described it as a very serious case and upheld 15 years as the correct pre-mitigation sentence.
However, the appeal court found a narrower error. The sentencing judge had received reports and testimonials concerning Ouachek’s prison conduct, employment history, health and personal circumstances but had refused to retain them and later made no reference, even generally, to having considered them.
That omission was enough to require resentencing. The court re-imposed 15 years but suspended four years instead of three, leaving an effective custodial term of 11 years. The original post-release supervision order was left unchanged.