A teenage boy who tried to murder a woman he met online will have to be re-sentenced after his original sentence was found to be too lenient.
The 17-year-old attacked her with a knife after luring her to an isolated area at the seafront in Dún Laoghaire two days before Christmas 2017.
The boy was 15 years old when he began chatting to the woman on an anonymous social networking app in late 2017. He pretended he was 19.
They arranged to meet in Dún Laoghaire where he brought her to a derelict house. She refused to go in so they walked to the water’s edge.
As they positioned themselves for a selfie, he grabbed her by the neck and started choking her. He then attacked her with a knife.
She passed out but somehow managed to raise the alarm when she came to. She told the court previously that she’ll never forget him calmly whispering to her to stop screaming. She said she still has flashbacks and nightmares.
The DPP didn't take issue with the eleven year sentence handed down, but felt the insertion of a sentence review after just five years was too lenient.
The Court of Appeal agreed and has now invited both parties to liaise ahead of a fresh sentence hearing.
