Former US Marine appeals nine-year sentence for grooming and sexually assaulting Wicklow teenager

By Darragh McCann, The Wicklow People

It is understood legal representatives for a former US Marine have lodged an appeal against the severity of the nine-year sentence handed down to him, after he was convicted of sexually assaulting and grooming a teenage girl in Wicklow.

At Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court in July, Judge Sinead Ní Chúlacháin sentenced Frank Bravo (27), of Morristown, New Jersey, to nine years imprisonment, before imposing concurrent sentences, resulting in an effective custodial term of eight years and eight months after backdating.

She also banned him from entering Ireland for 10 years after his release.

During sentencing, she said the harm caused to the victim was significant, describing her as having been left feeling isolated, “dirty” and violated after intimate images were circulated among her peers.

The judge thanked the complainant for her victim impact statement, adding: “You are an impressive young woman. You are a strong young woman.”

Frank Bravo aged 18 at his high school graduation.

Speaking this week, after being informed that Mr Bravo had appealed the sentence, the victim’s mother said: “He’s a disgusting and vile human being, while also being a predator.”

She accused the government of failing to keep children safe.

In her victim impact statement during the trial, the victim had described having to endure “the most dehumanising, mind-numbing experience”. She told the court that she had lost “a peace I can’t get back”.

Mr Bravo had contacted the victim, who was 14, via a social media website before exchanging sexually explicit images.

He used these images to groom and blackmail the young girl over the next few months before travelling to meet her in Bray in August 2022.

His campaign of grooming included monitoring her movements using a location-sharing app, and requiring her to reply to his messages within 30 minutes, or he would threaten to distribute the intimate photographs.

She was also forced to remain on video calls while she slept, so Mr Bravo could “monitor her”.

When the pair met in August, the complainant’s parents were already aware of the communication, with them and had alerted gardaí.

During the meeting on Bray seafront, Mr Bravo FaceTimed his mother and introduced the victim as “his new girlfriend”.

Mr Bravo kissed her and forced her to masturbate him as he touched her vagina, before walking her to a nearby bus stop.

Counsel for the prosecution, James Kelly, informed the sentencing hearing that Mr Bravo had left the country after the sexual assault, but later returned to Ireland, sending photographs of the front of the complainant’s home to her.

Gardaí had already begun an investigation into him and had canvassed local hotels before he registered at a hotel in north Wicklow. A staff member alerted gardaí after recognising him at the hotel.

During an interview with detectives, Mr Bravo denied all allegations, but was later identified on CCTV footage meeting the victim wearing an “I love Bray” jumper.

He was charged and granted bail, then fled to America.

He was located by a Morristown police officer and extradited to Ireland in December 2025.

Senior counsel for Mr Bravo, Colman FitzGerald, said during his trial that his client had served his country for seven years, had a “normal childhood” and was remorseful for his actions.