ADAM O’SULLIVAN CAUGHT IN CRAWLEY AND WEYBRIDGE: SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR CHILD SEX OFFENSES

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the local communities of Crawley and Weybridge, 28-year-old Adam O’Sullivan has been handed a suspended prison sentence after being convicted of serious offenses involving the exploitation of a minor.

O’Sullivan, who resides on Hunter Road in Crawley, was found to have engaged in disturbing online activities that involved attempting to incite a child to participate in sexual acts. The incident dates back to May 2016, when he was living in Weybridge, and it was during this period that he used the Kik messenger app to communicate with what he believed was a 14-year-old girl.

Unbeknownst to O’Sullivan, the person he was chatting with was actually an investigating officer posing as a teenage girl. Despite this, he continued to pursue the conversation with alarming persistence. During their exchanges, he encouraged the fictitious minor to send him indecent images of herself, and he also sent explicit images of himself. The conversation included discussions about meeting up, which raised further concerns about his intentions.

Investigations revealed that O’Sullivan was aware that the user was underage but chose to ignore this fact and continued to request explicit images. His online activity extended beyond this conversation, as he was involved in various online groups that shared indecent videos and images of children, highlighting a pattern of disturbing behavior.

In July 2018, O’Sullivan faced charges of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, along with three counts of making indecent images of a child. Initially, he pleaded not guilty to all charges at Guildford Crown Court. However, just before the trial commenced in February, he changed his plea to guilty, acknowledging the severity of his actions.

On March 18, the court sentenced O’Sullivan to 22 weeks in custody, but this sentence was suspended for 18 months, meaning he will not serve time unless he commits another offense within that period. Additionally, he was subjected to a seven-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which aims to restrict his access to online platforms and prevent further harm.

This case underscores the ongoing efforts of law enforcement to combat online child exploitation and highlights the importance of vigilance in protecting vulnerable minors from predators operating under the guise of digital anonymity.