A MOTHER-of-two has been jailed for prostituting her teenage daughter in a case a judge says involved “an extreme breach of trust”.
The girl says she was subjected to physical and mental abuse and forced to take illicit drugs when known by the name “Layla” and working at Sydney’s Liaisons escort agency between November 2008 and December 2009.
She was aged 16 and 17 at the time. The girl’s mother has admitted changing a birth certificate so the child could work for the agency as an 18-year-old.
At Wollongong District Court today, the 43-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to serve at least 18 months’ jail after pleading guilty to charges of obtaining a benefit from child prostitution and causing a child to participate in prostitution.
Children have the right to the love, care and protection of their parents,” Judge Paul Conlon said during sentencing today. “Parents have an overriding responsibility to keep their children from harm’s way and to shield them from evil. “The commission of these crimes by the offender involved an extreme breach of trust.”
During her time as a prostitute, the girl said, she had at least 18 clients, one of whom “liked slapping me across the face”, while another would tell her “you’re my dirty bitch”. The judge noted that the girl showed a willingness to work, but that she found it “degrading”. “The offender has given evidence in these sentence proceedings that some time ago, she herself had worked, albeit briefly, in that industry,” Judge Conlon said.
“Accordingly, she was fully aware that she was delivering her daughter into the hands of those who would subject her to extreme acts of degradation.” He said the woman had the power to prevent her daughter working as a prostitute despite the child’s willingness.
While the girl would keep some of the money she earnt, the court was told that the rest would go into a savings account, which the mother and daughter intended to use to start a clothing business. The woman was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison but will be eligible for parole in April 2012.
She has not been permitted any contact with either of her daughters since her arrest in December 2009.
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