HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced a Gary
woman to more than 24 years in prison for selling her two young
daughters for the production of child pornography.
The 25-year-old
woman pleaded guilty in January to one count of selling a child for
child pornography and two counts of permitting a child to take part in
child pornography. U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano sentenced her
Wednesday to 292 months, or 24 years and four months, The (Munster)
Times and the Post-Tribune reported.
The Associated Press is not
identifying the woman because doing so would indirectly identify her
daughters. It generally does not identify victims of child abuse.
Assistant
U.S. Attorney Jill Koster sought a sentence under the 30-year mandatory
minimum because of the woman’s cooperation. The woman not only told
investigators the truth from the start but also told them that
co-defendant Christopher Bour, 40, of Gary, had paid her, Koster said.
"She
wouldn’t be facing this 30-year mandatory minimum had she not been
truthful with law enforcement from the start," Koster said.
The
woman’s attorney, Visvaldis Kupsis, also argued that the woman’s
background, including an IQ of 55, weighed in her favor. He said people
with such low IQs are usually gullible and easily manipulated.
"She’s damaged," he told the judge.
FBI
agents first became aware of the woman’s part in the crimes when they
saw her in images found on Bour’s computer. The woman accepted less than
$100 each time Bour abused her youngest daughter, who was believed to
be 4 months old at the time, court documents said. The woman also
allowed Bour to photograph an older daughter, believed to be about 3
years old at the time, in lascivious poses.
Bour and the woman met through a dating site.
Bour
is appealing his sentence of life in prison plus 85 years. He pleaded
guilty in January to buying a child for sex, possessing child
pornography and three counts of producing child pornography.