Mother to prison for allowing sexual abuse
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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.
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