Face of Nation : Toddler Mason Jet Lee was treated callously in the lead-up to his death and received no basic care or tenderness, a court has been told.
Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath is appealing for more jail time for the pair who killed the 22-month-old — his mother and her then partner.
Anne Maree Lee and William Andrew O’Sullivan pleaded guilty to Mason’s manslaughter after failing to get him medical treatment as he suffered an agonising death.
The pair were also convicted of child cruelty after not seeking help for Mason’s leg and anus injuries about five months before his death.
“This young child was dealt with in a callous manner,” barrister Michael Byrne QC for Ms Yvette D’Ath told the Court of Appeal today.
“There was an unwillingness to provide any basic care and tenderness.”
O’Sullivan delivered a blow to Mason’s abdomen that ruptured his small intestine five days before his death in June 2016.
He was handed a nine-year jail sentence in Brisbane Supreme Court last year with a parole eligibility date of July 29, 2022.
Lee was also jailed for nine years but could walk free on parole next month.
“Importantly, these injuries were survivable had they been treated,” Mr Byrne said.
“It was a particularly serious example of manslaughter.
“This is a man who not only inflicted the blow or blows on a 22-month-old that resulted in the fatal injuries, but he then delayed in obtaining any medical attention when it was obvious to both relative strangers and complete strangers the child was unwell.”
