Youth jailed for five years over 11-hour "rampage" at detention centre

A 19-year-old man from Limerick has been sentenced to five years imprisonment at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for his involvement in an 11-hour disturbance at a detention facility. The youth pleaded guilty to violent disorder and two counts of criminal damage arising from an incident at Oberstown Children's Detention Campus on 29 August 2016. Judge Martin Nolan suspended the final two and a half years of the sentence. The court heard that during the incident, which caused €3 million in damage to one unit and €500,000 to others, detainees escaped their rooms, climbed onto a roof and used roof tiles as missiles against staff, gardaí and fire officers. One staff member was injured. The judge noted the accused was not charged with arson and was among the first to leave the roof. Three other youths have previously received five-year sentences for their roles in the same incident. A fifth youth, still a minor, is to be sentenced separately.