Parents Sentenced to Prison for Prostituting 10-Year-Old
SANTA ANA — A Stanton couple who pleaded guilty to prostituting their 10-year-old daughter have been sentenced in Orange County Superior Court to state prison terms.
The pleas came Tuesday, one day after the victim, now 13, testified for the prosecution, but before the defense cross-examined.
Defense attorneys said the couple wanted to avoid dragging their family through trial.
The father, 40, pleaded guilty to procurement and pandering and to sexually abusing the girl; he was sentenced to 10 years. His attorney, Bob Schwartz, said he pleaded guilty to “take the heat off his wife.â€
The mother, 37, pleaded guilty to helping a minor engage in illegal sexual acts with an adult and attempting to dissuade her daughter from testifying; she was sentenced to three years. To protect the girl’s privacy, the district attorney’s office withheld the names of the convicted couple.
The mother “pleaded guilty to spare her children,†said Deputy Alternate Defender Edward Eisler. “This is a tragedy for the entire family.â€
Deputy Dist. Atty. Laurie Hungerford said that conflicting testimony from the victim was one reason that led to negotiated pleas for the couple.
“We were dealing with a lot of different issues and inconsistencies,†she said. “And there were other issues, like the well-being of some of the witnesses.â€
According to Hungerford, the couple forced their daughter to have sex for money from age 10 to 12, and the father sexually molested her during this time.
Defense attorneys contended that the girl was having consensual sex with an adult neighbor, and that he, not the parents, was prostituting her.
Eisler said the victim and her 7-year-old sister and 6-year-old brother are in foster care.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
