PERTH MOTHER JAILED FOR ABUSING 3 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER

A Perth mother must serve 10 years and nine months before becoming eligible for parole after pleading guilty to 18 offences involving the sexual abuse of her 3 year old daughter.

(Content warning: child sexual abuse)

The 35 year old woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was sentenced in Western Australia's District Court.

THE BACKGROUND

According to NewsWire's court report, the offending involved a man with whom she was having an affair.

The court heard the woman had separated from her husband but continued living with him. She and the male co offender had met through Perth's swinging community before beginning a separate relationship.

In an account given to her psychiatrist, the woman said the man repeatedly pressured her to involve her daughter in their sexual activity. She claimed she initially resisted, then felt she needed to agree to please him.

She also claimed she believed her daughter would only be present, rather than directly involved, and that the man would not harm the child.

THE JUDGE'S FINDINGS

Judge Mark Herron rejected her explanations.

The court heard WhatsApp messages showed the woman arranging to visit the man's house while her husband was away. In those exchanges, she acknowledged that her daughter would soon become aware of what was happening.

Footage recorded on the man's phone showed the adults drawing the child into the abuse.

Judge Herron found the mother was a willing participant who encouraged her daughter's involvement.

"It was deliberate, planned and premeditated," he said.

The judge found the girl had been groomed to understand what was happening as normal and playful, encouraging her participation under the impression she was simply playing.

He also rejected the mother's claimed belief that the man posed no danger to her daughter. He said that explanation was implausible because the man had already discussed his offending against his own daughter.

Judge Herron described the mother's conduct as among the worst of its kind and condemned the betrayal of her responsibility to protect her child.

"It involves a gross breach of trust and a breach of your duty of care towards your 3 year old daughter," he said.

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UPDATE: SENTENCE CORRECTION

12 years and 9 months imprisonment, backdated to her arrest in July 2025, with a 10 year non parole period.