It was the story that shocked and terrified parents around the country to their very core, and today a judge at Portlaoise Circuit Court delivered its verdict on the attempted abduction in Laois last March.
A week after the court heard how Michael Martin had dragged an 11-year-old girl into his vehicle, the 36-year-old has been sentenced to 17 years in prison. The final four years of his sentence have been suspended.
Martin, from Waterford City, pleaded guilty to the charge of false imprisonment. He reportedly had 92 previous convictions at the time of the incident.
Delivering his judgment, Judge Keenan Johnson said that a forensic psychological report on Mr Martin ‘made for disturbing reading’. He added that Mr Martin was at a high risk of re-offending.
Handing down the sentence, Judge Johnson said that he was doing so “to ensure that not only are his best interests served, but also that society is protected from any repeat of this criminal behaviour.”
The frightening incident occurred in Cullohill, Co. Laois last March, when Mr Martin reportedly grabbed the little girl by the waist and put her feet-first into his jeep.
The little girl managed to escape after her 10-year-old brother punched Mr Martin through the driver’s window and clung on to the side of the jeep, distracting him.
