A judge has directed the Probation Services to carry out an assessment of a man who attempted to abduct a five-year-old child from an apartment building in Dublin last September.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the boy’s older sister managed to push Visak Rajesh Leela (26) away from her brother before both children ran away.
Leela, with an address in south Dublin, pleaded guilty to the attempted abduction on September 14th last from an apartment block in Dublin.
The defendant told gardaí he did not remember the incident as he was intoxicated after attending a party. He said that he did not know why he ran after the child and pushed him out of the building. However, he suggested that perhaps he thought that he knew the children.
After hearing the facts of the case, Judge Martin Nolan adjourned the case to when he directed the preparation of a report by the Probation Services.
The judge said there were “troubling aspects” to the case, and the court required the preparation of the report.
He adjourned the case to April 28th, and remanded Leela on bail to that date.
Garda Laura McDermott told his sentence hearing on Thursday that Leela was leaving a party at the apartment block at 9pm, when he encountered two children, playing outside their block.
The children then went inside and the defendant signalled for the young boy to let him inside, which he did. Leela then ran after the child and pulled him towards the door. He managed to then push the boy out the door. Footage of this incident was shown to Judge Nolan.
Gda McDermott explained that the boy’s sister ran out after her little brother and managed to push the defendant in the back into bushes. This was not captured on the CCTV footage, but came to light during the girl’s specialist interviews.
The children then returned to the doorway, and the footage showed the defendant following them and crouching down to speak to them.
The girl buzzed her parents and the children managed to get inside, return home and tell their parents what had happened. Within minutes, CCTV footage was obtained from the security hut and gardaí arrived.
Leela told gardaí that he couldn’t remember the incident, but accepted that it was him in the footage. He explained that he’d had one ounce of Jameson and three shots of Jäger over several hours.
He told them that he was from India, and had come here in October 2023 on a student visa. He was due to complete his MBA at Dublin Business School and he also worked part-time.
A victim impact statement prepared by the children’s parents was handed to the court and not read aloud.
Under cross examination by the defence, Gda McDermott agreed that this was a short incident and that the children returned to their parents within minutes.
The court also heard that Leela voluntarily handed over his phone and other devices, which were analysed and returned to him, with no material found.
His barrister told the court that although four drinks might not seem a lot, his client never drinks.
Counsel explained that his parents live in Qatar and that he has no siblings. However, he has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters in Marketing. He had also lined up in a MSC in Marketing, and is devastated that he will now not be able to pursue that.
Counsel said that he had spent three months in custody following this incident and that his mental health is in dire straits.
“He was bullied and assaulted in custody,” he continued.
Counsel said that the defendant has a plan to deal with a psychologist in Qatar.
“He can’t sleep with the remorse and pain,” he said. “He says that two minutes of a mistake he made has ruined his life.”
Counsel said that Leela offers his sincere apologies to the parents and the children involved.
“He had a whole life planned ahead of him in Ireland, which is now gone,” he said. “If the court gives him the chance, he’ll be on a plane tomorrow ... He fully accepts that his life in Ireland is over.”
