The sentencing of a 26-year-old student for the attempted abduction of a five-year-old child in Dublin last year has been adjourned until next month after the judge said he was troubled by aspects of the case and asked for a probation report.
Visak Rajesh Leela, who lived in south Dublin but is originally from India, pleaded guilty to the attempted abduction at an apartment block on the northside of the city in September 2024.
His lawyers said he was intoxicated at the time and "two minutes of a mistake" had ruined his life. He accepted his life in Ireland was over and was willing to get on a flight home as soon as possible.
Judge Martin Nolan had adjourned sentencing overnight at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. But when the case was called this afternoon, the judge said that it troubled him "to a great degree" and he wanted a probation report to help him.
The judge asked the Probation Service be notified that he wanted an "accelerated" report, focusing in particular on the risk of reoffending. He said there were "troubling aspects to this case" and he wanted the help of the report.
He remanded Leela on bail until 28 April to allow for the report to be prepared.
By last September, he had been in Ireland for 10 months with a plan to stay on to complete a masters qualification in marketing.
On 4 September he was at a party in a friend's apartment on the northside of Dublin beginning at 2pm in the afternoon.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that he did not usually drink much, but by the time he left the party at around 9pm, he had had four drinks - a whiskey and three shots of Jaeger.
As he left, he met two young children playing outside the apartment block. Garda Laura McDermott told prosecuting counsel, Jane MacGowan, that the brother and sister were outside but went inside.
Leela then signalled at the younger child, aged five, to let him in and ran after him. On CCTV footage, he can be seen holding the boy towards the door as the child tries to wrestle free. Ms MacGowan said the footage shows him pushing the boy through the door and outside.
The court heard the boy’s "very quick thinking" older sister ran out and pushed Leela in the back causing him to fall into bushes. The two children then managed to get back inside and he left the scene.
The children’s parents immediately notified security at the apartment complex and gardaí were alerted.
The children did not know Leela. The organiser of the party he had attended phoned him to come back and he returned a short time later.
Garda McDermott said he did not seem to be intoxicated but, the court heard, he had no shoes on when he returned and a doctor later certified him unfit to be questioned for a number of hours.
The garda said that he co-operated fully with the investigation.
Leela’s defence counsel, Greg Murphy said his client had made full admissions and had never disputed the facts. His lawyers told an earlier hearing in the district court that it was "extremely misguided, foolish horseplay by a drunk man".
Judge Nolan asked if Leela had given any explanation as to why he did what he did. Garda McDermott told the court he had said he could not remember doing what he did and did not know why he had done it.
She said he told them he thought that maybe he was thinking of young relatives at home in India. The district court previously heard he told gardaí that he did not have any "bad or unwanted intentions with a child". He has no previous convictions.
A victim impact report prepared by the children’s parents was handed into the court but was not read out.
Mr Murphy said Leela had written a letter of apology, focusing on his level of intoxication. In it, his client said he did not remember what had happened and apologised profusely.
He said he would normally have had one to two beers a month but on that day had consumed four drinks, which took control of him. Mr Murphy said that when he sobered up, he got the "shock of his life" when told what he did.
Mr Murphy said Leela had planned to study for a Masters qualification in Ireland but was devastated that path was now closed to him. He said his mental health was in dire straits.
He had spent three months in custody where he had been bullied, assaulted and threatened. Although he was now on bail, he was scared to leave his house except to sign on at the garda station and come to court.
Mr Murphy said Leela spent all of his time in his bedroom and had put himself in a form of house arrest. He was struggling to afford to buy food and his parents, who live in Qatar, had to sell a ceremonial wedding garment to provide him with money for his rent and bus fare.
He could not sleep with the pain and remorse of what he had done and believed that two minutes of a mistake had ruined his life.
Mr Murphy said he wanted to apologise sincerely to the parents of the children and to the children themselves. While he did not know if he would be able to move on, he hoped they would.
Leela did not see much of a future for himself, Mr Murphy added, and fully accepted his life in Ireland was over and the life he had built for himself was now gone.
He said that, if given the opportunity, his client would be on a flight home tomorrow where his parents had a plan for his mental health in place. He was willing to accept leaving the jurisdiction as a condition for any sentence imposed.
Mr Murphy said Leela had handed over all his devices to gardaí and nothing was found on any of them.
