Mason Lee’s stepfather sentenced to nine years’ jail for manslaughter

MASON Lee’s killer stepdad could walk free in less than four years after admitting to hitting the toddler so hard that his organs ruptured, before leaving him in agony for days as he slowly died.

Mason Lee died in June 2016.

MASON Lee’s killer stepdad could walk free in less than four years after admitting to hitting the toddler so hard that his organs ruptured, before leaving him in agony for days as he slowly died.

William Andrew O’Sullivan even tried to pin the blame for Mason’s death on a 10-year-old girl.

Stepfather Andrew William O'Sullivan was sentenced on August 30, it can be revealed.

Despite his horrific crimes, O’Sullivan will be eligible for parole after just six years in jail – two of which he’s already served – sparking community condemnation of the “lenient” sentence and calls for harsher penalties for child killers.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington called on Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath to demand an immediate appeal.

“To think that this man could be back out on the streets in less than four years is simply unbelievable,” she said. “This is a shocking decision and I do not believe it meets community expectations.”

Mason Lee suffered an agonising death.

State MP Ros Bates slammed the sentence saying it was not in line with community expectations.

“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.

O’Sullivan was sentenced by Chief Justice Catherine Holmes – the same judge who along with two of her colleagues downgraded wife killer Gerard Baden-Clay’s murder conviction to manslaughter in 2016, prompting The Courier-Mail’s “The law is an ass” front page. That decision was later overturned by the High Court.

The sentencing took place last week, however, The Courier-Mail was banned from reporting it and the shocking details on the crime after Justice Holmes imposed a suppression order. The order was lifted yesterday.

Queensland Victims Homicide Support Group chief executive Brett Thompson said his organisation wanted tougher penalties for child killers.

“The fact that, generally speaking, the sentencing for children actually is on average less than the sentencing for an adult for homicide cases, I would suggest that wouldn’t meet community expectations,” he said.

A graphic depicting the horrible injuries Mason Lee suffered.

He was sentenced in the Supreme Court last week and The Courier-Mail can only now reveal the shocking detail of his crimes after the suppression order was lifted. Little Mason, just eight weeks shy of his second birthday, died a slow and painful death as his stepdad callously watched on, refusing to get medical help in the days after he struck the boy hard enough to perforate his intestines in June 2016.

For days, O’Sullivan did nothing as Mason’s organs shut down, ignoring his blood-soaked nappies, fever and distended stomach, while yelling at him to “shut up” when he cried in pain and vomited.

Days after inflicting the fatal injury to 22-month-old Mason in June 2016, the toddler who lived a life of “neglect, pain and misery”, died alone on the floor of O’Sullivan’s bedroom, wrapped in a towel and covered in vomit.

An autopsy revealed his tiny body was covered with injuries.

In sentencing, Justice Catherine Holmes said the ­injuries to Mason showed “that in the period over which his life was ebbing, he was not treated with any gentleness or kindness”.

“Worse you did nothing to help get help for him despite what must have been his ­evident distress,” Justice Holmes said.

“The cruelty offence sets the scene for the kind of life the little boy had it seems to have been one of neglect pain and misery.”

O’Sullivan’s barrister said he had been assaulted in prison. Picture: Channel 9

O’Sullivan cried throughout much of his court appearance, frequently wiping away tears and taking deep breaths.

Defence barrister Ruth O’Gorman said O’Sullivan, a self-described “junkie” and “crackhead”, had battled drug addiction since he was a teen.

She said he had been the victim of threats and violence in prison and that in an attack earlier this year, two prisoners bashed, kicked and stomped him so severely that he spent 13 days in hospital with a fractured skull.

O’Sullivan pleaded guilty to manslaughter and child cruelty and was sentenced to nine years in jail with a non-parole period of six, making him eligible for parole in July 2022.