A YOUTH WHO STABBED a woman during a crime spree after he arranged meetings via Facebook marketplace with six people to buy top-of-the-range phones has received a nine-month custodial sentence.

The 16-year-old, who left a trail of victims around west Dublin, pleaded guilty to the assault, theft and robbery charges.

He met his victims over five weeks last year through the social media platform’s items-for-sale app.

The boy, who was 15 and smoking cannabis at the time, repeatedly used a false name during his online interactions to set up his victims.

Judge Shalom Binchy heard at the Dublin Children’s Court that on February 7, a man arranged through the social media app to sell his iPhone 13 valued at €750. During their conversation, the teen “grabbed the phone and made off running”.

He was followed to his home, where gardai also found €5 worth of cannabis. The phone’s screen was also damaged. The victim had been selling it because he was “in dire need of money” to cover financial difficulties, resulting in suffering stress after the crime.

Two weeks later, the boy met his next victim, a woman selling her iPhone 13. She was nervous and remained in her car, but the teenager pulled a knife on her.

Gardai believed he did not intend to inflict injuries, but she was injured during a “tussle” with the woman, who was then stabbed in her chest.

The woman tried to flee and drive from the scene but crashed, causing €2,000 damage to her car. She also needed eight stitches and had to take three days off work.

The woman suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and opened up about the effects of the “horrific” robbery. She said she always drives around with her doors locked and does not trust anyone.

On March 3, he got into a struggle with a man selling an iPhone, but the teen snatched it and fled.

He met another male victim on February 2, pretending to be interested in buying an iPhone 12, but stole it and ran away,

The man has been left afraid to sell items online and highly nervous.

The teen went out again a day later to meet a man selling an iPhone 14, which the boy grabbed. The seller suffered a €1,450 loss and sustained injuries to his knees.

Eight days later, he met another seller, took his iPhone 12 and left him €800 out of pocket.

Judge Binchy noted the teenager, who did not address the court, had no previous convictions and gave no explanation for his actions.

The defence said the teen was genuinely remorseful and came from a good family left upset by his actions. He also cooperated with the gardai and assisted in the investigation.

His family had also disciplined him, and he had quit smoking cannabis, his counsel said.

The court heard he is back in school; however, the judge noted a probation report stating the boy had “limited insight” into the impact of his offending on the victims.

Judge Binchy remarked that the teen’s school attendance and abstaining from cannabis were self-reported and not independently confirmed.

In addition to the custodial sentence, she placed him on post-release supervised probation for 12 months to assist him in education or employment.