A Tasmanian mother who prostituted her 12-year-old daughter to more than 100 men has been jailed for 10 years.

The 41-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, booked a hotel room and supplied lubricant and condoms after deciding with her partner Garry John Devine, 51, that the girl would become a prostitute to make money.

The mother booked a room at a Hobart hotel for two nights for her daughter to work, leaving her under the supervision of Devine, who would knock on the door to tell the men when their time was up.

 

The prostitution continued at Devine's Glenorchy unit, with the mother supplying lubricant and condoms for the girl.

It was estimated she had sex with more than 100 men during the one-month period, charging an extra $50 if the men did not want to wear a condom.

The girl contracted sexually transmitted diseases, including genital warts and chlamydia.

Proceeds from the sex business were split with Devine receiving about $100 a day and the mother $400 a day. The rest was used to buy drugs.

The woman initially denied knowledge of the business in two separate police interviews.

However, she pleaded guilty in the Hobart Supreme Court on Monday to procuring unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 17, being a commercial operator of a sexual services business and receiving a fee derived from sexual services provided by a child in a sexual services business.

In handing down the sentence this morning, Justice Peter Evans said the prostitution was an appalling breach of trust that lacked the maternal instincts of a mother.

Justice Evan ordered the woman not be eligible for parole until she had served seven years in jail.

Devine was sentenced to 10 years' jail with an eight-year non-parole period but is appealing against his sentence on the grounds that it was manifestly excessive.

The Examiner