An online petition calling for the offender to be “locked up” garnered 1000 signatures in a day, while a social media post urging Dubbo residents to “watch your kids” had been shared almost 1000 times by mid-afternoon on Thursday.

A Sydney newspaper reported on Monday that a Dubbo man had pleaded guilty to 10 counts of historic child sex crimes and received a two-year suspended jail sentence.

NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman has since asked the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to consider an appeal.

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Mr Speakman on Wednesday confirmed the DPP had already lodged an application to have the suppression order in the matter lifted.

On Wednesday a social media page called ‘The RED HEART Campaign - Voices Against Violence’ published comments on the issue.

The campaign page identifies itself as the work of Australian feminist and journalist Sherele Moody.

In the post it urges people to keep their “kids away from any church or religious event or venue in the Dubbo area and surrounding regions”.

The same group launched the online petition to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Mr Speakman and appealed for support in a second post to social media.

“Please sign and share our petition to make sure this manipulative mongrel goes to jail where he belongs,” it says in the post.

The Daily Liberal asked the Attorney-General, the state’s highest law officer, to comment on the social media posts.

“I understand and share the community’s concern about lenient sentences for some child sex abuse offenders,” he told the Daily Liberal in a statement.

“That’s why I’ve asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider whether an appeal against the sentence imposed ... would have sufficient prospects for success.

“If the DPP declines to appeal, I will consider whether to exercise my power to commence an appeal.

“Research so far suggests that Attorneys General in NSW have only used this power twice in 30 years in these circumstances.”

NSW opposition leader Luke Foley used Question Time on Wednesday to repeat his demand for the Attorney-General to “lodge an appeal against the manifestly inadequate sentence imposed on a child sex offender”.

“And I will not rest until the Attorney General does the right thing and appeals this sentence,” he said.

On Monday Mr Speakman said last month the government had legislated to abolish suspended sentences, to take effect by mid-2018.