Riad Bouchaker awaits sentence for Parnell Square attack

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

Riad Bouchaker is awaiting sentence at the Central Criminal Court after a jury convicted him of eight offences arising from the attack at Parnell Square, Dublin, on 23 November 2023. He pleaded not guilty.

The jury found him guilty in July 2026 of attempting to murder three children: two girls and a boy. It also convicted him of intentionally inflicting serious harm on childcare worker Leanne Flynn, assault causing harm to two other children and to teenager Alan Lorena Guille, and producing a knife.

At a sentencing hearing on 12 October 2026, the court heard victim impact statements. Bouchaker’s barrister asked the judge to consider his cognitive and intellectual limitations, including in relation to why he contested the case, and said he could not understand the concept of legal guilt. Defence counsel argued that his mental capacity at the time of the attack and since then should have a bearing on sentence.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt said there was a lot to think about and set sentencing for 16 November 2026.