By Claire Henry
A 48-year-old Dublin man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for hijacking a car with a 5-month-old baby in the back.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Noel Ryan, of no fixed abode in Dublin, pleaded guilty to one count of hijacking a vehicle and one count of abduction of a child at Mountjoy Square, Dublin, on September 23, 2024. He has 41 previous convictions including for theft, aggravated burglary, road traffic matters and misuse of drugs.
Passing sentence today, Judge Martin Nolan said this child was left by itself for the guts of three hours. He said the baby’s parents “had to endure what no parents should have to endure”.
Judge Nolan said, “I understand he was in the throes of addiction at the time, but he put himself in that position”.
The judge said, “he was reckless in regard to the child”. He said he would consider the facts of this case and the aggravating factors. He said the only real mitigations were the early guilty plea.
The judge said he would consider that this accused is shameful and apologetic and that he probably did not know there was a child in the car. He also noted that “anyone informed by conscience would have put the car in some place it could have been found more easily.”
Judge Nolan set a headline sentence of nine and a half years; after considering the mitigating factor, he sentenced him to seven years in prison backdated to when Ryan went into custody on this matter.
Detective Garda Paul Griffin told Diana Stuart BL, prosecuting, that on the day in question, the mother of the child parked her car in Mountjoy Square. She went to the boot of her car and was setting up her child buggy when she heard her car door close. She ran to the driver’s door and saw Ryan inside. She pulled open the door and began screaming that her baby was in the car.
The court viewed CCTV footage, which showed the woman holding onto the car door as Ryan drove off. She was dragged until she could no longer hold on any longer. Members of the public tried to stop the car and came to the woman’s assistance. The woman’s phone and handbag were also in the car.
Det Gda Griffin said the car was taken at 1.45 pm, and a “Child Rescue Ireland” alert was sent out. He said that almost every garda car in Dublin was on alert, and air support was also deployed. Two members of the public flagged down a garda who was on patrol near Richmond Street; they told him there was an alley nearby where cars are often abandoned. The garda checked this alley and saw the car in question.
The court heard the garda saw a baby’s foot, and when he opened the door, he saw the baby in its rear-facing car seat. He said the child had tears moving down its face and was agitated. He then held the baby’s hand and picked up a brown teddy bear to try to cheer the baby up. The car was located by the gardai at 4 p.m.
Ryan had used a credit card which belonged to the mother of the baby in a shop nearby 12 minutes after the car was taken. Gardai viewed CCTV footage from the shop, and he was identified. Ryan was arrested the following day and was interviewed six times in total.
On the sixth interview, he made some admissions by saying, “I did not know there was a child in the car, I went to Clarence Street to get a friend to ring the gardai”.
The mother of the child read a victim impact statement to the court: “I felt a terror like I have never known before, the fear for my child’s safety”.
“I tried everything to stop him driving away, I screamed that my baby was in the car. I did everything I could, but it was not enough”.
“I watched my car drive off at speed with my child in it and a stranger”.
“My mind was picturing all possible outcomes, did he want my car or the baby?”.
“I will never be able to forget the events of that day”.
“My hope is that justice will be served for the considerable damage that has been caused to us”.
The father of the baby read a second victim impact statement: “This was the single worst day of my life. I felt the ground beneath my feet completely collapse”.
“I was thinking of the worst possible outcome. I blamed myself that I did not protect my family”.
“The next three hours were the longest of my life”
“I ask the court to understand what has been taken from us fully. The first year of her life has been tainted for us”.
Det Gda Griffin agreed with John Byrne, SC defending, that Ryan was known to him for several years and was someone who had struggled with addiction. He agreed that no trial date was ever fixed and that Ryan pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
The garda agreed with counsel that the car was taken and was parked a two-minute drive away. He also agreed that 12 minutes after the car was taken, his client attempted to buy cigarettes in a nearby shop.
Mr Byrne said, “Anything I say is not to justify what my client has done.” Ryan has offered a heartfelt apology. He said there was nothing sinister in terms of Ryan’s motives.
Counsel said, Ryan’s “real regret apart from the offence in itself is that he did not do more”.
He said his client offers “an unserved apology for what he put the parents through, and if he could turn back the clock, he would. He did not deliberately go out and take a car with a child in the back seat..