Courts / Cork / Report
Sentence increased for predatory child rapist who groomed girls on Snapchat
Summary
The Court of Appeal has increased the sentence of David O'Sullivan, a 23-year-old convicted of raping two young girls he groomed on Snapchat, from nine years to thirteen and a half years. The State's appeal, brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions, argued the original sentence was unduly lenient given the extreme nature of the offending. Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy upheld the appeal, finding the conduct demonstrated a calculating mind and measured intent. O'Sullivan pleaded guilty to multiple counts of rape, oral rape, communication with a child for sexual exploitation, and production of child abuse material. The court imposed a six-and-a-half-year sentence for the first victim, a consecutive nine-year sentence for the second victim, and a concurrent six-and-a-half-year term for possession of child abuse material. After reducing the total by two years for proportionality, the effective custody term is thirteen and a half years. O'Sullivan will also serve a fifteen-year post-release supervision order and remain on the sex offenders register for life. The original sentencing judge had suspended two and a half years of his eleven-and-a-half-year term, but this appeal finalisation results in the increased custodial term.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Sentence increased for predatory child rapist who groomed girls on Snapchat. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- November 2025 Incident
- August 2024 Incident
- February 2023 Hearing Or Sentence
- June 2022 Hearing Or Sentence
- November 2024 Other
- March 2025 Other
- 2026-03-24 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had sought a review of O'Sullivan's original term of imprisonment, arguing that his offending was at "such an extreme end" of this type of case that the ultimate sentence imposed had been "incapable of reflecting the gravity" of the crimes. O'Sullivan was sentenced to eleven and a half years for the rapes and for possession of child abuse material in November 2025 by Ms Justice Melanie Greally at the Central Criminal Court.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- Central Criminal Court
- St Vincents Avenue
Topics
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