Teenage boy avoids jail time following Howth Dart Station attack

A teenage boy involved in a horrific incident at Howth Dart Station last year, which resulted in a 17-year-old girl falling in between the Dart tracks and the platform, will avoid serving time in jail.

On April 1, 2021, CCTV footage which was circulated on social media at the time showed a group of male teens intimidating and taunting young women as they attempted to board the train at Howth Dart Station.

The footage appears to show that these young women were lunged at and kicked.

Earlier that night, a group of around 10 male juveniles had been kicked off a Dart for anti-social behaviour, however, the group continued to linger on the platform in Howth. 

At approximately 9pm, in an effort to avoid the group of male teens, a 17-year-old tripped and fell down in between the platform and the Dart, which had stopped to take on passengers. Luckily, the young girl was helped up safely by passers-by and suffered no injuries. However, she was understandably very shaken and distressed by the experience.

One of the male youths who was involved in this horrific incident, a 17-year-old boy who accepted his presence was intimidating, has received a sentence of six months supervised probation, meaning he will not have to spend any time in jail, as reported by The Irish Times.

Three 17-year-olds had been charged with violent disorder following this incident. However, one of these juveniles had an additional charge of assault to the girl, causing his case to be separated from the other two.

Last month, the other two juveniles were found guilty of violent disorder, despite previously pleading not-guilty.

Throughout the hearing it was brought to attention that one of the teenage boys swung his leg out over his bike, kicking another young girl in the head. She said, “one of them lunged at me,” describing the incident as “daunting”.

Sentencing for this male teen who swung his leg over the bike has been adjourned until next month.