The Director of Public Prosecutions has confirmed it is considering an appeal against the jail sentence imposed on convicted child sexual abuser Brendon Toohey.
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Toohey has been previously convicted of both the manslaughter and sexual assault of an 11-month-old baby in his care.
He this week made a parole application to the State Parole Authority, which will be heard at a private meeting on May 3.
Toohey was sentenced in the Parramatta District Court on March 7 of sexual intercourse person with a under 10, under authority, following a judge-alone trial before Judge J Bennett.
In 2017, Toohey was convicted of the manslaughter of the same 11-month-old infant and was jailed for seven-and-a-half years. However, a non-parole period of four-and-a-half years made him eligible for parole on October 8 last year.
When the second charge of sexual intercourse with a person under 10, under authority, was heard separately from the manslaughter charge, Toohey was convicted and sentenced to a jail term of four years and six months with three years non-parole.
The sentence was backdated to March 9, 2016, making Toohey eligible for parole the day after he was sentenced.
The sentence outraged the father and grandmother of the little girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, and following inquiries from the Western Advocate, a spokesperson for the DPP confirmed an appeal was being considered.
"The Director is currently considering an appeal against the sentence imposed [on Toohey] on March 7, 2019," a spokesperson said in a short statement.
The DPP is able to appeal any sentence thought to be "manifestly inadequate" and has 28 days from the date of sentencing (March 7) to lodge a Notice of Intention to Appeal.
If a notice is lodged the matter will go to hearing in the Court of Criminal Appeal.
The victim's father, who earlier made a plea to the DPP to appeal the sexual assault sentence, described Toohey as "pure evil" and said he remains a threat to the community.
"If what he did was an explosion of anger or he lost control, who's to say he won't do it again," the father said.
The victim's paternal grandmother said news of the pending parole hearing had shattered the family. "It's something we just can't understand."
The little girl's father said she would never be forgotten.
"I think about her all the time. I see other babies and think about her," he said.
