The now 21 year-old Luke O’Brien has told The Irish Sun of his fears upon learning that the young man who stabbed him six times in Waterford four years ago, Jason Moore, has been freed from prison.

In 2019, Moore stabbed O’Brien in a violent rage when rumours of their sexual relationship became public in their hometown of Dungarvan, Waterford.

Moore and O’Brien, both seventeen years old at the time of the attack, had known each other since childhood. The two were sexually involved, but Moore became angry when their relationship started to become public knowledge in Dungarvan, the town in Waterford they are both from.

Although Moore received a suspended sentence in March 2019 after pleading guilty to assault with intent to cause harm, he was only imprisoned in January of this year for two years after the case was appealed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Having only served half his sentence, Moore was released in September this year.

O’Brien told The Irish Sun that he only learned of Moore’s release through word of mouth and is opening up about his experience to call for greater supports for victims of violent assaults.

“It’s wrong for my family to have to see the man who almost killed me — I should have been told he was out of prison.

“Thankfully I don’t live in Dungarvan any more and I would hate to encounter him on the street again.

“I think someone was looking over me when he attacked me and I just hope he doesn’t attack another ­innocent person.

“I can’t believe I had to find out through word of mouth and it’s clear more needs to be done for the victims of violence in this country.

“Besides the physical injuries, the emotional impact of that night is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life.”

He added: “Luckily, I found the strength within me to fight back and escape his grip, otherwise I am certain he would have killed me.

“The injuries I sustained that night consist of multiple stab wounds to my torso, face, hand and head, and a badly beaten face.

“The stab wounds have turned into clearly visible scars which can still be seen to this day and I will constantly have to carry these with me every day of my life as a reminder of what happened that night.

“Due to this incident it caused both myself and my family a lot of financial strain between travel expenses as I didn’t feel safe being in my hometown after this happened, causing me and my mother to fly to England to my father and his family for the Christmas and New Year period.

“None of us would have been able to make it through this terrible ordeal without the support of each other but I am greatly thankful for the support of my mother throughout all of this.

“I firmly believe that if a person commits a crime like this that they do have to deal with the consequences of their actions and not be let off lightly.”

Currently, a victim of a violent assault must complete an application form on the Irish Prison Services website to be kept informed on updates regarding their case.

Luke says he was “never told” about the application and had contacted the prison multiple times but received no official confirmation that Moore has been released early.

O’Brien’s calls for greater support for victims have been supported by Aontú leader & Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín who referred to this case as “horrific” adding that “the system needs to change”.

Tóibín said: “If a person is convicted of a violent assault on another person then it is only appropriate that the victim should be informed when the assailant is released from prison and in appropriate cases they should be offered protection by the Government. Currently, this is not happening in many cases.

“The Minister seems oblivious to the concerns of victims who’ve been in touch with me. I have therefore written to her today asking if she will meet with Luke O’Brien.

“Luke has told of how he became aware of the fact that his assailant was released from prison when people from his locality told him they’d seen the attacker on the streets.

“This is horrific, and the system needs to change.”

The Irish Prison Service has urged victims of brutal assaults to use the Victim Liason Service.

A spokesman said: “When offenders are committed to custody the Irish Prison Service is not provided with information on the identity of the victim or means to contact them.

“The Irish Prison Service will, if requested, inform victims of significant sentence management details of offenders. However, it is important to note that this is a voluntary service and only those who choose to will receive the relevant information.

“The current practice is that the victims or their families must initiate the contact with the Irish Prison Service Victim Liaison Service as any alternative arrangement could be perceived as intrusive and insensitive.”

After falling out with O’Brien, Waterford teenager Jason Moore set up a Snapchat account under a false name and used this account to begin messaging the other boy again. He then arranged a meeting with O’Brien at a secluded location in Dungarvan Bay, claiming that they were “just going to chat.”

Sgt Alan Crowley, who investigated the case and testified in court, said that the men were walking together and “having a normal conversation,” for some time, but that at some point O’Brien felt a cold sensation and realised he had been stabbed. He pleaded with his attacker to stop, but Moore screamed back “this is all your fault, you shouldn’t have told people, and now you have to pay.”

The injured O’Brien ran to a neighbour’s house with Moore shouting after him “I know you are going to tell people… if you do, I will find you and stab you to death.” After managing to reach his neighbour, he was rushed to University Hospital Waterford.

Moore was arrested that night at his home in Waterford, where gardaí found his blood-stained clothes. He initially denied that himself and O’Brien had been in a sexual relationship, but in court last week he apologised to the victim.

In his victim impact statement, Luke told of his ongoing ­torment.

He said: “The scars have affected my confidence majorly as they are visible, especially the one beside my eye and on my left hand.

“The scars on my body have also impacted my confidence. This has almost ruined my past time of musical performance as I am self-conscious of others being able to see these scars in the ­dressing room.

“I also had a horrible experience while on holidays as I was too self-conscious to have my body on show at a public pool or beach.

“Due to the fact that the incident occurred around the corner from my house, me and my family have had to move house so I don’t have another constant reminder of this incident.”

Anyone wishing to contact the Victim Liason Service can email [email protected].