A burglar who attacked two sisters in their home after they desperately tried to wrestle their mother’s handbag from the thief’s grasp has been jailed for a term of six years with an 18 month suspension.
The two sisters came home from Christmas shopping on the 2nd of December 2023 to find Dan Moorehouse (26) of Richmond Park, Monkstown, Dublin coming down the stairs of their home after he had “ransacked” the bedrooms.
Moorehouse, who was living in a Fr. Peter McVerry Trust family hub at the time, punched one of the young women in the face, leaving her bleeding from the lip and with a cut on her cheek bone.
The other sister, who spoke of the trauma of seeing her sibling punched in the face by the “dark clothed figure” she saw was smacked in the nose, according to Garda Lee O’Donoghue.
The court heard that Moorehouse gained access to the property by removing the kitchen door by smashing it down.
CCTV footage received by investigating Gardaí was used to trace his movements after one of the sisters managed to get a photograph of the accused on her phone.
He was traced to the homeless hub 150m from their home.
After being confronted by the sisters, he got out of the house whereupon one girl ran him before Moorehouse turned and hit her hard in the face.
The young women’s victim impact statements detailed the fear they both experienced from the incident and how they would leave lights on in the house at night and draw the curtains when they went out during the day.
One of them said she was “afraid” to sleep in the house on her own, and that she would repeatedly check to see if the doors were locked properly.
The other victim said that every sound she heard would make her feel uneasy at home, and that she felt she would awake to see the dark figure of Moorshouse in her room.
In respect of the incident, Moorehouse pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm and one count of burglary at the address on Monkstown Road, south Dublin.
He has 60 previous convictions including burglary, attempted burglary, dangerous driving, possession of drugs and assault.
Judge Martin Nolan commented that the incident had undoubtedly been terribly frightening for the women who were found outside the house bruised and bleeding when Gardaí arrived.
He said that the crime was motivated by Moorehouse’s drug habit as he was seeking items to sell.
Although the court accepted that the accused has had mental health difficulties from the age of 5, he said the defendant knew what he was doing when he burgled this house and that assaulting the two women was wrong.
He imposed a sentence of 6 years with the final 18 months suspended.