Indian student ordered to leave Ireland after child abduction attempt

Dublin: A 26-year-old student who pleaded guilty to the attempted kidnapping of a five-year-old boy in Dublin last year has been spared a prison sentence and given two weeks to leave the country.

Visakh Rajesh Leela, who lived in south Dublin but is from India, was sentenced to three years in prison by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The sentence was suspended and he was ordered to leave the country within two weeks.

When the kidnapping attempt took place, Leela had been in Ireland for ten months, with plans to remain there to complete her master's degree in marketing.

The 26-year-old said he was drunk at the time and that a "two-minute mistake" had ruined his life. Judge Martin Nolan said it was an unusual case and that Leela was not a danger to children. 

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told that Leela was attending a party in a north Dublin apartment block on September 4, 2024, where he had four drinks - one whisky and three shots of Jagermeister. However, his lawyer said Leela did not usually drink heavily.

As he started to leave at 9pm, he saw two children playing outside the apartment block. Garda Laura McDermott told prosecuting counsel Jane McGowan that the brother and sister had gone inside. Leela then ran after him, gesturing for the younger five-year-old to let her in.

In CCTV footage, he can be seen holding the boy against the door as the boy tries to escape. Ms McGowan said the footage shows him pushing the boy through the door and out.

The court heard that "very suddenly" the child's older sister ran out and pushed Leela backwards, causing him to fall into the bushes. The two children were later able to get back inside and he left the scene.

The children's parents immediately alerted security at the apartment complex and alerted the Gardaí. The organiser of the party he had attended phoned him to come back, and Lila returned a short time later.

Leela's lawyer, Greg Murphy, said his client had made a full confession and never disputed the facts, 

His lawyers said in an earlier argument in the district court that it was "the misguided and stupid act of a drunkard". Judge Nolan said Leela had "little or no recollection" of what had happened and that he had been drinking at the time. The court accepted that Leela had mixed up the children's names and acted as if they were her relatives.

Leela spent three months in custody after her arrest. At a previous court hearing, she heard that he had been threatened before he was granted bail, and that he was afraid to leave his home even after being released on bail.

Judge Nolan said that "any crime involving children, even if it is a serious crime", does not merit a custodial sentence.

He said that Leela had no previous convictions, was in the low-risk category for reoffending, had led a "narrow" life, and had spent most of her time at home since the incident.

He was sentenced to three years in prison, but the sentence was suspended in full. Judge Nolan ordered him to leave the country within two weeks and not to return to Ireland for ten years.