Teenager sentenced over sexual assaults on two girls

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

The Central Criminal Court sentenced an 18-year-old man to two years’ imprisonment for sexually assaulting two girls in 2023, when he was 16 and they were 15. The final six months were suspended for three years, subject to conditions including participation in programmes as deemed appropriate. He pleaded guilty to two counts; three further counts were taken into consideration. He cannot be identified by order of the court.

The judge said the girls’ statements described the trauma and violation they experienced. One said she felt the defendant had turned people in their community against her after she made a complaint; the other said rumours and being called a liar had made her feel like “the bad guy”. Judge Paul Burns said the girls had done nothing wrong and deserved their community’s sympathy and respect.

The judge set a four-year headline sentence, taking account of the defendant’s age at the time of the offending. He considered the guilty plea, a written apology and reports and letters submitted for the defence before imposing the sentence.