Child protection advocates have slammed the sentence handed to a man for the manslaughter of Queensland toddler Mason Jet Lee.

September 7, 2018

Queensland’s sentencing laws must be rewritten to ensure criminals like the man who killed toddler Mason Jet Lee get what they deserve, child protection advocates say.

Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston is appalled by the nine-year sentence handed to Mason’s stepfather, who beat the 22-month-old so severely his organs ruptured.

The child was left in agony for days as he slowly died, with William Andrew O’Sullivan doing nothing to help the boy.

Ms Johnston is devastated but not surprised by the manslaughter sentence, which could see O’Sullivan walk free in four years with time already served.

“He’s not someone who is safe in our society. I think the justice system is not really the justice system – it’s the legal system and what we want is some justice for these kids,” she told reporters on Friday.

Ms Johnston said there was little point in the government appealing O’Sullivan’s sentence because judges’ hands were tied.

“I say throw (the system) out and start again otherwise we’re just tinkering at the edges.”

Ms Johnston says the community should not blame the courts and it’s the framework judges must work within that is broken.

“What (the attorney-general) needs to do is rewrite the legislation, put some standard minimum sentences in place,” she said.

The state opposition’s child safety spokeswoman Ros Bates agrees.

“I’m sure that the public don’t think that a sentence that lenient is sufficient for what that little boy went through,” she said.

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath has three weeks to lodge an appeal against the sentence.

“As with all cases, the Director of Public Prosecutions are looking at the judgement and will advise the attorney-general whether there are any prospects for appeal,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

O’Sullivan was also convicted of child cruelty after failing to seek medical care when the boy suffered a broken leg and severe anal injuries about six months before he was killed in June 2016.

Mason’s final hours were spent wrapped in a towel, lips blue, making grunting noises. After he died traces of methamphetamine were found in his blood.

O’Sullivan, who had long battled an addiction to drugs, particularly ice, tried to cover up his involvement in Mason’s death by blaming paramedics for responding slowly when they had taken only six minutes to arrive after being called by a friend.

He also lied to police by saying he found Mason with his lips blue and mouth clamped on a bottle before calling an ambulance and later claimed his 12-year-old “serial killer” daughter may have beaten him.

Since being in custody, O’Sullivan has been bashed unconscious by another inmate.