Woman admits role in rape of 2 boys
July 12, 2007
Adapted from the Morning Call
A woman admitted raping and assisting in the rape of two boys, both of whom were under the age of 9.
The 46-year-old woman could face between 10 and 80 years in prison. She will be sentenced in mid-October.
''Not only were you a perpetrator, but you were an accomplice,'' said the judge after being told she would often duct-tape the boys' mouths to muffle their screams while her boyfriend sexually abused them.
On numerous occasions, the woman herself also performed several sexual acts on the victims from January 2004 to April 2006, said the chief deputy district attorney.
''Was I surprised [by her guilty plea]?'' said the attorney. ''No. We have a strong case.''
In May, the boyfriend was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to raping the boys.
The woman, her shoulders slumped and her hair in disarray, was silent during the hearing and would only nod a ''yes'' when the judge asked for clarifications.
After the judge admonished her to answer his questions with words, her answers were barely audible.
''I'm totally disgusted,'' said a relative of the sexually assaulted boys. ''The entire time [she] told me she had nothing to do with this, and now she pleads guilty? I'd like to see her [sentence] go all the way up to 80 [years].''
When deciding the length of her term, the court also will consider the fact that she agreed to testify against the boyfriend if he had not admitted the rapes.
She will remain at county prison while undergoing a 90-day sexual offender evaluation by the state Sexual Offender Assessment Board.
The board already has labeled the boyfriend a sexually violent predator, and if the panel gives her the same designation, another hearing will be held before her sentencing to review the findings.
The boys are still in therapy and separate from their family as they struggle to psychologically recover from the sexual abuse. |
