Woman accused of trying to sell girl's virginity

Mendoza Line · #1 05-24-2011, 03:07 PM

SALT LAKE CITY – A Salt Lake City woman has been charged with offering her 13-year-old daughter's virginity to a man for $10,000.

The 32-year-old woman was charged Monday in Utah's 3rd District Court with two first-degree felony counts of aggravated sex abuse of a child and two second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

If convicted, the woman faces a lifetime prison sentence for each first-degree felony and a zero to 15 year sentence for each second-degree felony.

In court papers, prosecutors allege that the woman had discussed letting her daughter perform oral sex and other sex acts with an adult male. The negotiated offer and an arrangement to exchange the teen's virginity for money were detailed in a string of text messages which were seen by the woman's boyfriend, who called police, court papers say.

In a police affidavit also filed with the court, investigators say the woman acknowledged the agreement and said she and the girl had been modeling lingerie for the man in a local store and at their home near the Utah State Capitol. Investigators say the woman said she had also taken pictures of her daughter wearing only a bra and skimpy, thong underwear and sent them to another adult male.

In the same affidavit, the girl told police she initially agreed to the sex-for-money arrangement, but later told her mother that she did not want to go through with it.

The Associated Press is not naming the woman to avoid identifying the daughter.

No court dates have been set in the case and it wasn't immediately clear if the woman had an attorney.

The mother is being held in the Salt Lake County Jail. Bail is set at $250,000. A corrections officer at the jail said the facility does not take telephone messages for inmates.

A check of Utah State Court records shows the woman has a criminal history that includes misdemeanor convictions for illegal drug possession and driving under the influence. A forgery case filed against her in 2007 was dismissed after she successfully completed a court-ordered drug treatment program.