A woman who pressured her 13-year-old daughter into sex with a truck driver will serve time in protective custody after being attacked by other inmates for her "breach of mother-child trust".
The woman, now aged 44 and who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in a drug-fuelled haze in 2004 when the girl was assaulted by the mother's then casual lover.
In Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Friday, the woman was sentenced to five and a half years' jail.
After pleading innocent to all charges, she and the man were found guilty by a jury in November 2009 of scores of offences, including sexual and indecent assault of the girl on three occasions in NSW in 2004.
The man, now aged 31, was also convicted of multiple counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with the girl.
Judge Greg Woods said the woman was a "heavy user" of the illegal drugs ice and cannabis at the time of the offences, and the man took advantage of her dependency.
"She pressured the daughter into sex with (the man)," Judge Woods said in sentencing on Friday.
"He must have known, however, that (she) was a desperate addict in the grip of a dependency and he took advantage of it.
"In return, it would seem, for some free motor fuel ..."
Taking into account time already served, the mother will be eligible for release in December 2012.
In sentencing, Judge Woods noted the woman's treatment in custody at the hands of other inmates and indicated her entire sentence was likely to be served in protective custody.
"She has been assaulted already by other inmates ... (who) expressed revulsion at the breach of the mother-child trust (and) maybe (in the future that will be) shown with violence and knives," he said.
"It is likely that this woman will spend all or most of her prison sentence under protection."
The offences occurred on three separate occasions in 2004, all in NSW, with the latest being the most serious, Judge Woods said.
Some of the earlier charges related to the girl watching her mother and the man engage in sex acts, while in the most recent case the girl and man were alone for hours in his truck at a BP service station in the Hunter region.
On that occasion, the woman took motor fuel from the truck driver partly in exchange for time with the teenager, Judge Woods said.
"It seemed that (the man) could have the daughter ... on the condition that he not have penis-vagina intercourse," he said.
"Apart from that he could use her for his sexual satisfaction as he saw fit."
Judge Woods said the man's conduct was "that of a sexually active young man without the ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality".
He added that the man could not be described as a paedophile and had not gone "trawling" to find young girls for sex.
The man, whom the court heard had been previously of "good character", was sentenced to at least eight years in jail and would not be eligible for release before October 2017, taking into account time already served.
"He abused (the girl) through the vulnerability and madness of the mother," Judge Woods said.
The mother, who had previously expressed remorse for the offences, was expressionless as the sentence was handed down on Friday.
"The abuse of a relationship between mother and child is regarded by the law and the community with abhorrence," Judge Woods said.
"As a parent, she is entrusted with the care of a child ... that trust is grossly breached if she allows or permits her paramour to have sex with the child."
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