Manhattan prosecutors plan to pursue their case against the mother of six - and believe her 15-year-old was pressured by family to say the mom had nothing to do with the sleazy setup.

"She's young. She's under a lot of pressure. What do you expect her to say?" said one law enforcement source familiar with the case.

The mother has been sitting in Rikers Island since the teen and her now 21-year-old sister told authorities she steered them to tax lawyer James Colliton, 41, in a sex-for-cash scheme.

But the younger girl has since backtracked from her original story, reportedly claiming her big sister - not her mom - brokered the deal and urged her to lie to officials.

The flip-flop is being viewed warily by investigators, especially since the 21-year-old and other witnesses are sticking by their account that the mom profited from Colliton's relationship with her daughters.

A neighbor of the family told the Daily News when Colliton was arrested that the mother used to brag that she never had to work because her children raked in money for her.

The 38-year-old mother, who proclaimed her innocence in an interview with The News after her arrest, is charged with child endangerment and promoting prostitution.

Colliton is charged with second-degree rape, patronizing prostitutes and bribing witnesses.

The dough-faced lawyer, who earned $500,000 a year at the white-shoe firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, allegedly had sex with underage girls in a small midtown apartment where he crashed when he didn't return home to his wife and kids in Poughkeepsie.

Colliton, who fled to Canada when he knew he was about to be arrested, is being held without bail and is due in court next week.

Originally published on March 21, 2006