Court of Appeal suspends extra jail time for man who sexually assaulted teen girl in Kildare
A 12-year-old girl met Ben Lawlor, a 22-year-old man from Naas, Co Kildare, on a dating app in May 2023 and went to his home where they had sex; she was reported missing by her father on 20 May 2023 and found the next day at Heuston Station. Around a year later, Lawlor, then 21 and on bail, contacted the girl via Snapchat and TikTok and sent her sexually explicit material including a photo of his penis. He pleaded guilty to defilement of a child, sexual assault, use of ICT to facilitate sexual exploitation of a child, and meeting a child for purpose of sexual exploitation, and was sentenced to six months for defilement and a suspended 12-month term for the remaining charges. The DPP appealed both sentences as unduly lenient, and in July 2026 the Court of Appeal upheld the six-month defilement sentence but resentenced the sexual assault to 14 months, giving a total of 20 months with the unserved balance suspended on conditions including probation and a three-year no-contact order.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Verdictnot reported
- Sentenced30 Jul
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- A 12-year-old girl met Ben Lawlor on a dating app called Wink, presented herself as 19 but told him she was 16, and went to his home where they had sex.
- Around a year later, Lawlor, then 21 and on bail, contacted the girl via Snapchat and TikTok and sent her sexually explicit material including a photo of his penis.
- Where
- They met at a location in the midlands and drove to a secluded spot; Lawlor is from Craddockstown, Naas, Co Kildare.
- When
- The girl was reported missing by her father on 20 May 2023 and was located the next day at Heuston Station.
- Other details
- Lawlor was 19 at the time of the first offence and genuinely believed the girl was 16; after the defilement the girl had suicidal ideation and required therapy.
- Charges
- Lawlor pleaded guilty to defilement of a child, sexual assault, use of ICT to facilitate sexual exploitation of a child, and meeting a child for purpose of sexual exploitation.
- Sentence
- He was sentenced to six months for defilement and a consecutive 12-month sentence suspended in its entirety for the remaining charges.
- In July 2026 the Court of Appeal resentenced Lawlor to a headline 26 months reduced to 14 months consecutive to the six-month defilement sentence, giving a total of 20 months with the unserved balance suspended on conditions of peace, 12 months probation, engagement with a perpetrator sexual offending programme, and a three-year no-contact order.
- In court
- The DPP appealed both sentences as unduly lenient; the Court of Appeal found the six-month defilement sentence appropriate but the 12-month sexual assault sentence too low to a substantial extent.
20 statements extracted from the articles
- whatThe girl met the respondent on a dating app called Wink (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe girl presented herself as 19 but told the respondent she was 16 (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe girl went to the respondent's home where they had sex (irishmirror.ie)
- whatAround a year later the respondent contacted the girl via Snapchat and TikTok and sent her sexually explicit material including a photo of his penis (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe respondent was 19 at the time of the first offence and genuinely believed the girl was 16 (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe girl presented herself as 19 on an adult dating site (irishmirror.ie)
- whatAfter the defilement the child had suicidal ideation and required therapy (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe respondent was 21 and on bail at the time of the second offence (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe girl was located the next day at Heuston Station (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThey met at a location in the midlands and drove to a secluded spot (irishmirror.ie)
- whereLawlor is from Ban ne Gréinne, Craddockstown, Naas, Co Kildare (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe 12-year-old girl was reported missing by her father on 20 May 2023 (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeHe pleaded guilty to defilement of a child (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeHe subsequently pleaded guilty to sexual assault, use of ICT to facilitate sexual exploitation of a child, and meeting a child for purpose of sexual exploitation (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe DPP appealed both sentences as being unduly lenient (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe court found the 6-month defilement sentence was not a substantial departure from the norm (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe court found the 12-month sexual assault sentence was too low to a substantial extent (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe appropriate headline sentence for the sexual assault would have been between 24 and 30 months (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceHe received a consecutive 12-month sentence suspended in its entirety for the second set of charges (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceThe court resentenced Lawlor to a headline sentence of 26 months reduced to 14 months consecutive to the 6-month defilement sentence, giving a total of 20 months (irishmirror.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 30 Jul2026Court takes 'merciful approach' to man who sexually assaulted teen girl
Court of Appeal (Mr Justice John Edwards) found the 6-month defilement sentence appropriate given factual consent and the respondent's genuine belief the girl was 16, but ruled the 12-month sexual assault sentence was 'too low, to a substantial extent.' Resentenced to 26 months headline reduced to 14 months consecutive to 6 months (20 months total), with the unserved balance suspended on conditions of peace, 12 months probation, and engagement with a perpetrator sexual offending programme. No contact with the injured party for three years.
convicted, Ben Lawlor, 22, male, named, irish (judged from name)Ben Lawlorvictim, 12, female