Man who attacked teenage twin girls with bottle on street jailed for more than four years

A man who attacked teenage twin girls with a broken bottle after they rejected his advances towards them has been jailed for four years and two months.

Shando Alfa (27) was captured on phone footage by one of the girls walking along Dame Street, in Dublin city centre, linking arms with her sister.

The girls continually rejected his advances and told him to leave them alone before a man passing by intervened to assist them.

Garda Colm Carroll said it was at this point that Alfa produced a broken bottle and attacked all three of them, leaving each of the victims with deep cuts that needed stitches and staples.

Shando Alfa of no fixed abode came to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on signed pleas of guilty from the District Court.

He pleaded guilty to three charges of assault causing harm on April 4th, 2026.

Sentencing Alfa on Wednesday, Judge Elma Sheahan imposed a sentence of three years and nine months on each of the assault charges.

She said to “properly reflect the seriousness of the offending” she would make two of the sentences consecutive to each other leading to a total sentence of seven years and six months.

[ Man pleads guilty to stabbing teen sisters with broken bottleOpens in new window ]

Judge Sheahan then reduced the sentence again resulting in a prison term of four years and two months.

Garda Colm Carroll played CCTV footage from the night, the footage from one of the girl’s phones, and an audio recording of the ultimate assault.

He told Tessa White, prosecuting, that the man has not prepared a victim impact statement. The young women had prepared victim impact statements.

They were handed into the judge and not read out. None of the victims were present in court for the sentence.

Carroll said Alfa had 20 previous convictions, which were all dealt with in the District Court and included offences for possession of weapons, handling stolen property and criminal damage.

He was remanded in custody following his arrest when he was identified after gardaí viewed CCTV footage of the incident.

Carroll agreed with Oisin Clarke, defending, that the man who stepped in to assist the girls could be heard on the audio telling Alfa he would “knock him the f**k out if he doesn’t back away”.

He accepted it was when this man pushed Alfa away that the assault started.

He accepted that before this Alfa had not been aggressive towards the girls but Carroll said the teenagers had told gardaí that he had been getting “more aggressive towards them” before the man stepping in.

It was accepted that Alfa “was not getting the picture” that they didn’t want his advances. It was also accepted Alfa was clearly intoxicated at the time.

Carroll did not accept that “cultural differences, language difficulties and intoxication” meant it was not clear to Alfa what was going on.

He accepted Alfa was homeless and a drug addict at the time. He also further accepted that Alfa had to leave his native Somalia after an attack on him.

Clarke told Judge Sheahan a forensic psychological report before the court indicated that Alfa may have emerging psychiatric conditions but he had not yet been diagnosed.

Judge Sheahan took into account that Alfa had “endured torture” in Somalia and has lived in various countries throughout Europe “without accommodation”.