Long jail sentences in 'harrowing' case

MOTHER ACCUSED OF DRUGGING DAUGHTER

- SHANIA KING-SOYZA & LISA LETCHER

A MOTHER has been sentenced to a long term of imprisonment after conspiring with her partner to drug and rape her young daughter, in a plan uncovered through disturbing text messages.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons to protect the identity of her child, was part of a shocking scheme where she and her boyfriend intended to "knock out" the six-year-old girl. Despite claiming that she never meant to go through with it and only agreed to appease her boyfriend, Truro Crown Court found her story unpersuasive.

During a trial at Truro Crown Court in May, prosecutors charged the Liskeard woman with five offences: conspiracy to rape a child under 13, conspiracy to assault by penetration of a child under 13, administering a substance - tramadol - to stupefy or overpower a child enabling sexual activity, distributing an indecent Category C photograph of a child, and possessing six indecent Category C photographs of a child.