MO - Mom & Joseph Champion for sex abuse of 9yo girl, St Louis, 1997

[alpharee]

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (AP) -- A mother was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison Thursday for letting an Illinois man molest her daughter in their St. Louis home in exchange for cash.

The woman, who is not being identified by The Associated Press to protect the child's privacy, was convicted of conspiring with the man and of aiding him in crossing state lines to have sex with the girl.

Joseph Champion, 55, of Granite City, Illinois, pleaded guilty in July to molesting the girl in 1997, when she was under age 12. Champion was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he agreed to testify against the mother, who was convicted in November.

The mother was sentenced in St. Louis federal court to 17 years and six months in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

The mother's attorney, Ted Luby, said the sentence was unfair.

"She's getting a lot of time, and Mr. Champion, the molester, got less," Luby said.

During the trial, Champion and the girl testified that the mother was present when the abuse occurred. Prosecutors played a recording made by police in which the mother said she told Champion to stop when the girl began crying. Afterward, the mother said, she took $40 from him.

The daughter reported the abuse in 2002.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Midwest/0....ap/index.html

[nixmom]

IMO, they both got off with a lot less than they should have! I will never understand how people can treat their children like they are animals.

[Brefie]

This tale blows me away. They should both be thrown in a pit of acid.

$40 for a child's innocence? It's a pity she can't buy it back, I'm sure she'd be willing to pay a lot more than $40.

[Rachael]

That is terrible. It reminds me of a friend of mine from when I was younger. Her father had died when she was only 2. Her mother had been dating the same guy for years. The mother's boyfriend molested my friend for years and her mother knew about it all along and let it happen. Freaky people. My friend never told me this until we were grown but I can remember many weird things about the guy. I don't get parents these days. I would kill someone for touching my kids. It's just plain awful.

[2sisters]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,237558,00.html
This makes me so sad and angry that a woman could rent her child that she carried in her for 9 months for 20 bucks a throw to a pedophile.

[Dalilah]

I honestly cannot conceive of this. I don't know what amount of drugs one would need to do in order to accomplish something so heinous. I literally cannot imagine it.

[2sisters]

I honestly cannot conceive of this. I don't know what amount of drugs one would need to do in order to accomplish something so heinous. I literally cannot imagine it.

I don't care how poor and hungry I was I would never prostitute my kids. it is unbelievable that a mother would do this for money. I would die before letting a grown man have sex with my little girl.

[altruist1000]

I don't understand why the Appeals Court agreed with the conviction but sent the case back to have the sentencing reconsidered. The sentence was 17+ years with 5 years to run concurrently. Who knows what the actual time served would have been under this scenario?

The district court then reduced the low sentence from 210 to 120 which is a reduction of 7+ years.

IMO, the Federal Appeals Court should have left the original sentence alone or suggested that it was too light.

The criminals should realize that appealing a rightful sentence have repercusions, IMO. I think for such a heinous act the criminal shouldn't be even considered to be released before the age of 65.

JMHO

Where is MIDNIGHT? I miss reading his/her insights since the Laci coverage.

[hipmamajen]

That's just totally unacceptable.

That poor girl. I can't even imagine.

[Ang50]

I don't understand why the Appeals Court agreed with the conviction but sent the case back to have the sentencing reconsidered. The sentence was 17+ years with 5 years to run concurrently. Who knows what the actual time served would have been under this scenario?

The district court then reduced the low sentence from 210 to 120 which is a reduction of 7+ years.

IMO, the Federal Appeals Court should have left the original sentence alone or suggested that it was too light.

The criminals should realize that appealing a rightful sentence have repercusions, IMO. I think for such a heinous act the criminal shouldn't be even considered to be released before the age of 65.

JMHO

Where is MIDNIGHT? I miss reading his/her insights since the Laci coverage.

Sentencing went back b/c of recent US Supreme Court decision Booker and Blakely. It's messed up all of our criminal sentences - b/c basically everyone sentenced under federal guidelines can question their sentences. The District Judge then has to say if the sentence would have been different if they knew the guidelines were not mandatory, only advisory. Most of the time, it's a rubber stamp, b/c the judge usually says - I would have sentenced the same. In this case, it got all messed up.

I have no problem with more than 10 years. The only problem I have is that the pedophile himself only got 15. So mom's original sentence was longer than his - and I do think that's wrong. He should've gotten life, and she should get a sentence beyond her childbearing years.

[altruist1000]

Thank you very much for the explanation Ang50. I was too angry to research the cases referenced. You saved me a lot of time.

Am sorry that the District Court Judge didn't confirm his additional sentence, am glad that the Federal Appeals Court took a position to point him/her in the right direction at the request of the Prosecutor. Am grateful for the dedication of the Appeals Judge & the Prosecutor who appealled the improper decision.

May very well be time for that District Court Judge to retire for they don't seem to be strong enough to "DO THE RIGHT THING" with the discretion that comes with the position of authority & decision making that he/she is currently holding.

I find the Mother's participation in this even more repugnant as the bond of trust that is breached. We as a society are stuck with these sicko pedophiles but man when Mother's are offering their children to them for $20 a molestation, while holding them down for the pedophile, we certainly don't want that population growing. It's bad enough that there are children with people who are not qualified to be parents but this, ugh.

I am so hoping that this young girl has been placed in a loving home & can heal & forget, but the possibility of that type of healing seems remote but I will pray for her. God bless her & keep her safe from harm.

[Bobbisangel]

Just heard on TV that crime has gone up over the last year. Was I surprised...no. Until the courts start giving sentences to fit the crime we aren't going to see any change in crime in the US.

A mother that would sell her little girl to some pervert for $20 should spend years and years in prison. She is every bit as sick as the pervert. How could she do that? She must be an addict of some sort. Heck, why didn't she just go join the girls on the street corners and sell her own body for $20? She was supposed to protect her little girl and keep her safe. Maybe she will get hers while she is in prison. I hope so anyway. While she is in prison I recommend that they fix her so she can't have any more kids and that she never get her little girl back.

[Mr. E]

But then Shaw in December sentenced the woman to 10 years, saying mental problems and drug addiction had influenced her behavior. The judge also noted that she had taken parenting classes, had vocational training and gotten her GED while in prison.

The judge said he did not believe the woman posed a danger to the public and was unlikely to repeat the actions, according to court documents.

So the judge is impressed that this woman took parenting classes. You don't need parenting classes to know that prostituting your child out is wrong.

The judge doesn't believe this woman is a danger to the public. The the child who was prostituted out twice a week for two years, with her mother holding her down while a pervert molested her -- what is she? Is she not part of "the public"?

What are judges smoking these days? I feel like they are not all on our side anymore.

[SewingDeb]

She is definitely a danger to the public. I'm with you, Mr. E; I'm also wondering what the judges are smoking when they make their decisions.

[2sisters]

I think life in prison would be fitting. i just can't imagine taking your daughter who you are supposed to love and prtect and letting someone pay you 20$ to rape her while you hold her down and watch. Who cares if she is no risk to society, she needs to be punished and ehr daughter needs to feel safe and she won't if her mother is out on the streets.