A TEEN GANG surrounded an Indian student who was repeatedly kicked and punched during a “pile in” attack and beaten over the head with steel vice grips on the Luas in Dublin, a court heard.

Three boys, one aged 15 and two 17-year-olds, appeared before Judge Paul Kelly at the Dublin Children’s Court for a preliminary hearing to decide their trial venue.

They have been charged with assault causing harm to the man, 20, on the Red Line on December 5, 2022.

The Director of Public Prosecutions urged the judge to refuse jurisdiction in all cases and send them forward to the Circuit Court, which has broader sentencing powers.

Outlining the allegations, Garda Jason Curran said that the incident happened around 9 pm when the student was heading home after college.

Five youths boarded and could be seen having a discussion, which the garda believed was them planning to attack the student who was sitting alone.

The teens, accompanied to court by family members, had covered their faces with snoods and hoods before they surrounded and carried out an unprovoked attack on the man.

Garda Curran played the CCTV evidence and the footage showed the teens raining more than 20 punches and kicks on the man. Judge Kelly noted one of the boys used railings in the tram to get into a better position to kick the man.

The oldest defendant, who had the vice grips, joined in and could be seen bringing it down forcibly on the victim’s head four times.

Garda Curran told Judge Kelly that the use of the tool “brings the assault to a different level”.

A girl with the group tried to stop them but failed, and it ended when another passenger intervened. The student, who did not have to attend the hearing, suffered a broken front tooth, cut lip, bruised face and cut hands. Garda Curran added that the victim was lucky it was not worse.

Defence counsel Doireann McDonagh asked the judge to accept jurisdiction, and the boys would plead guilty.

The Children’s Court can consider a juvenile’s level of maturity and other relevant factors in a jurisdiction hearing.

Ms McDonagh said the youth who wielded the vice grips was 16 at the time and had autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Judge Kelly described the incident as shocking and vicious and remarked that it happened in the full glare of numerous people.

He noted the level of premeditation, how the vice grips were turned into a weapon, and the other 17-year-old threw several punches and “used bars to lever himself up to deliver numerous kicks”.

The footage showed both “pile in with considerable enthusiasm”, he said as he ruled that they would go to the higher court. He remanded them on bail pending the preparation of books of evidence.

He accepted jurisdiction for the third and youngest defendant, who pleaded guilty and had sentencing adjourned for a probation report and victim impact statement to be drafted.

He was 14 when it happened and was the last to join in; he managed to strike the injured party but was blocked and stopped mid-way through.

The court heard he had a mild learning difficulty, and no prior criminal convictions and Ms McDonagh said that the teen, who also remains on bail, had expressed genuine remorse.

The trio, who cannot be named because they are minors, will appear again in court in January.