Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 0678Sexual assault, oral rape · Co. Dublin

Man jailed for three years for sexually abusing young cousin

A 34-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to three years in prison at the Central Criminal Court for sexually abusing his young cousin. The offences, comprising four counts of sexual assault and one count of oral rape, took place between 2005 and 2008 when the accused was aged between 14 and 16 and the victim was aged between five and eight. The victim made a formal complaint in 2021, and the accused was convicted following a trial before Ms Justice Karen O'Connor. On 4 July 2026, the judge imposed concurrent sentences totalling three years, with a headline sentence of four years reflecting that the accused was a child in law at the time rather than the eight years that would have applied to an adult.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In court3 Jul
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced4 Jul
    2 reports
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
What happened
A 34-year-old man was convicted of sexually abusing his young cousin on dates between 2005 and 2008.
When
The victim made a formal complaint in 2021.
Where
The trial and sentencing took place at the Central Criminal Court before Ms Justice Karen O'Connor.
Charges
The accused was convicted of four counts of sexual assault and one count of oral rape.
Sentence
  • Concurrent sentences totalling three years were imposed.
  • The headline sentence was set at four years because the accused was a child in law, rather than the eight years that would have applied to an adult.
Other details
  • The accused was aged between 14 and 16 at the time of the offending.
  • The victim was aged between five and eight at the time.
  • The accused showed no remorse during the trial.
  • Seventeen testimonials were submitted in mitigation from family, neighbours and others.
  • The DPP's view was that the offending lay in the midrange of the scale.
  • The accused is currently in a stable relationship.
51 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatCCTV showed Mark Carroll running from the house clutching his chest at 00.55. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatDerek Boyd also came running from the address following Carroll. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatA black Volkswagen Passat pulled up outside the Stena Line passenger terminal at Belfast port at 9.57am on June 9. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatDerek Boyd was seen disembarking the vehicle and hugging the partner of the male driver. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatDerek Boyd was captured on CCTV at 10.55am boarding the Stena Line boat. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatChantelle Harcourt is alleged to have made an effort to clean the scene before gardaí arrived. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatCCTV showed Carroll, Megan Rock, and the two accused spending several hours together on 8 June 2024. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatA total of €383,090 in cash was recovered from the car (irishmirror.ie)
  • whereThe alleged stabbing occurred at Scribblestown Place, Finglas, Dublin 11. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whereThe cash handover took place at Gulliver's Retail Park, Santry (irishmirror.ie)
  • whenThe incident occurred in the early hours of 9 June 2024. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whenThe offences occurred on dates between 2005 and 2008. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whenThe victim made a formal complaint in 2021. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whenThe incident occurred on 14 October 2025 (irishmirror.ie)
  • chargeThe prosecution case is that Boyd stabbed Carroll with the intention of killing him or causing serious harm. (irishmirror.ie)
  • chargeDerek Boyd has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mark Carroll. (irishmirror.ie)
  • chargeDerek Boyd has pleaded not guilty to making a threat to kill Megan Rock. (irishmirror.ie)
  • chargeDerek Boyd has pleaded not guilty to assaulting Megan Rock causing her harm. (irishmirror.ie)
  • chargeChantelle Harcourt has pleaded not guilty to impeding prosecution at the scene. (irishmirror.ie)
  • chargeChantelle Harcourt has pleaded not guilty to impeding prosecution at Blanchardstown Garda Station. (irishmirror.ie)
  • chargeHe was convicted of four counts of sexual assault and one count of oral rape. (irishmirror.ie)
  • chargeBoth pleaded guilty to one count of money-laundering (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtDerek Boyd is on trial at the Central Criminal Court charged with the murder of Mark Carroll. (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtThe prosecution will not adduce direct evidence of what happened in the house during the seven minutes. (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtThe trial is before Ms Justice Melanie Greally and a jury of seven men and five women. (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtThe trial and sentencing took place at the Central Criminal Court. (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtThe case was heard at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court (irishmirror.ie)
  • sentenceThe man was jailed for three years. (irishmirror.ie)
  • sentenceThe headline sentence would have been eight years if the accused had been an adult. (irishmirror.ie)
  • sentenceThe headline sentence was set at four years because the accused was a child in law. (irishmirror.ie)
  • sentenceConcurrent sentences totalling three years were imposed. (irishmirror.ie)
  • sentenceJudge Martin Nolan set a headline sentence of nine and a half years for Samotos, reduced to five and a half years (irishmirror.ie)
  • sentenceKolukhonova was sentenced to 20 months in prison (irishmirror.ie)
  • sentenceBoth sentences were backdated to the date they were taken into custody last October (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherDerek Boyd is in a relationship with Chantelle Harcourt. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherMegan Rock would be a witness in the case. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe accused was aged between 14 and 16 at the time of the offending. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe victim was aged between five and eight at the time. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherSeventeen testimonials were submitted in mitigation from family, neighbours and others. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe DPP's view was that the offending lay in the midrange of the scale. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe accused showed no remorse during the trial. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe accused is currently in a stable relationship. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherSamotos is a Ukrainian national living in Leitrim (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherSamotos had limited work opportunities and went online looking for ways to make more money (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherSamotos got involved in a money-laundering operation for an organised criminal gang (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe verification process involved Samotos sending a photo of his trousers and shoes and a photo of a €5 note with the serial number clearly visible (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThey have no previous convictions in this jurisdiction or in Ukraine (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThey came to Ireland separately after war broke out in Ukraine and started a relationship (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherSamotos was working for a car wash but was not getting enough hours to make a living (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherKolukhonova has a young child (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe third party who handed over the cash is still before the courts (irishmirror.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 4 Jul2026
    Sentencedirishmirror.ie, follow-up
    Couple jailed after gardaí seize €383,000 in cash from car

    Full sentencing report: Samotos received a headline sentence of nine and a half years reduced to five and a half years; Kolukhonova received 20 months. Both sentences backdated to their October 2025 custody. Details of the two-step verification process and the organised criminal gang's role were given in evidence.

    convicted, Ihor Samotos, 32, male, Ukrainian, named, non-irishIhor Samotosconvicted, Sabina Kolukhonova, 34, female, Ukrainian, named, non-irishSabina Kolukhonova
  2. 4 Jul2026
    Sentencedirishmirror.ie, first report
    Man jailed for sexually abusing young cousin when he was a teenager

    Reports the sentencing of the unnamed 34-year-old accused to three years' imprisonment, including the judge's reasoning on the reduced headline sentence due to his age at the time, the victim impact statement, and mitigation evidence.

    victim, femaleconvicted, 34, male
  3. 3 Jul2026
    In courtirishmirror.ie, follow-up
    Murder accused boarded ferry hours after alleged stabbing, trial hears

    Trial evidence presented including CCTV footage showing the accused boarding a Stena Line ferry in Belfast hours after the alleged stabbing, the prosecution's case that the stabbing occurred during a seven-minute window, and the accused's pleas of not guilty to all charges.

    accused, Derek Boyd, 31, male, named, irish (judged from name)Derek Boydvictim, Mark Carroll, 34, male, irish (judged from name)Mark Carrollaccused, Chantelle Harcourt, 34, female, named, irish (judged from name)Chantelle Harcourtvictim, Megan Rock, female, irish (judged from name)Megan Rock