An Australian mum was sentenced to a minimum 18 months in prison for taking sexually explicit photos of her daughters and sending them to their dance instructor.
A failed dancer herself, who later worked as a stripper and was hospitalised for an eating disorder, the woman became obsessed with making her daughters successful dancers.
Over a period of three years she took semi-naked pictures of her children, aged between 10 and 13, and sent them to Grant, along with explicit messages. She admitted in court that she did it so the girls wouldn’t be “relegated to the back row during dance routines”.
The mum, who cried throughout the hearing claimed she was “under the spell” of instructor Grant Davies, but Judge Peter Zahra said this was no excuse for exploiting her children for “the promise of fame”.
“The children were vulnerable and essentially helpless, being in their own home when the offences took place," the Judge stated.
“They were entitled to trust their own mother. They would not have understood the behaviour they were engaged in, and considerable harm has been done.”
“Because of her own obsession with fame, the offender knowingly exploited her own children.”
The mother was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, with a minimum time served of 18 months. The dance teacher has been charged with child sex offenses.
