Youth stabbed over Bebo webpage

A TEENAGER was stabbed and beaten with knuckle-dusters over comments he allegedly made about a girl on a Bebo webpage, a court has heard.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged at the Children’s Court with assault causing harm to the teenage boy, at Ringsend Park, in south Dublin, on March 9th last. He also faces connected charges for theft of two mobile phones.

Judge Patrick McMahon was told that the row stemmed from comments posted on the internet on Bebo, a social networking website popular with teenagers.

It was alleged the defendant and another youth, who is also to face prosecution, met the boy, believing he had made online threats and posted a message saying “stay away from this girl”. The fight took place at a basketball court and it was alleged the boy was hit by the defendant who was armed with a knuckle-duster.

It was alleged he was stabbed by the second youth and suffered superficial shoulder wounds.

A file on the teenager had been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions who recommended that the case should be sent forward to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, which on conviction can impose lengthier sentences. However, defence solicitor Michelle Finan pleaded with the Children’s Court not to send the case forward.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times