Northern Ireland

Man who abducted girl (7) from garden pleads guilty to assaulting second girl

Burieta had previously admitted child abduction

Alleged kidnapper Marek Burieta
Marek Burieta

A Slovakian national who abducted a seven-year-old girl from her own garden after he asked her if “she wanted to go for ice cream” has admitted assaulting a second girl.

Marek Burieta was due to go on trial at Craigavon Crown Court on Tuesday accused of attempted sexual assault, but after a jury was sworn in, defence counsel Barry McKenna asked for the charge to be put again.

Speaking through an interpreter the 34-year-old entered a plea of “not guilty to attempted sexual assault but guilty of common assault” and prosecuting counsel Joseph Murphy told the court “the plea is acceptable to the prosecution.”

Earlier this year Burieta, who is currently remanded into HMP Maghaberry but who has an address at Spelga Park in Lurgan, was on trial but mid-way through the prosecution case, he entered guilty pleas to child abduction and possessing a knife.

With both sets of charges arising from the same events, the court has previously heard how the first victim, a seven-year-old girl, was playing in the front garden of her home on 28 June last year when the defendant approached and asked “did she want to go for ice cream?”

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Burieta then picked her up and was in the process of carrying her down the street towards an alleyway when a neighbour intervened.

No details around the second assault were revealed in court.