A woman has admitted using her young daughter for sexual exploitation. The woman (47) appeared in court yesterday where she pleaded guilty to 12 charges involving the abuse of her child.
The charges included sexual assault, wilful neglect or ill-treatment, as well as using her daughter for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Judge Tony Hunt imposed reporting restrictions to ensure that neither the woman nor her child could be identified in media reports.
The woman stood before Roscommon Circuit Criminal Court yesterday as the charges were read out to her. She pleaded guilty to five charges of sexually assaulting her daughter – a child in law – from 2004 to 2008.
She also admitted two charges of using her child for sexual exploitation in 2007 and 2008.
Neglect
In addition, she pleaded guilty to five counts of wilfully assaulting, ill-treating, neglecting or abandoning her daughter in a manner likely to cause or expose her to unnecessary suffering on dates between 2004 and 2008. These charges were brought under section 3 of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998.
All of the offences took place in the west of Ireland.
Phillip Rahn, prosecuting, asked Judge Hunt to request a victim impact statement and that the necessary notification would be made under the Sexual Offenders’ Act. The woman’s legal team also sought a psychiatric assessment report and asked the judge to direct the preparation of a probation and welfare service report.
Acceding to the applications, Judge Hunt remanded the woman on continuing bail until her sentencing hearing next year.