Saskatoon mother sentenced to prison for filming sexual assault on her four-year-old daughter

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.

A Saskatoon mother who filmed the sexual assault of her four-year-old daughter has been sentenced to prison.

Judge Natasha Crooks sentenced the woman, whose name cannot be disclosed as this would mean identifying the victim, to a net term of eight years and four months on Friday.

“The court found that there is no greater position of trust and authority than that of a mother over her child,” prosecutor Lana Morelli told the Court of King’s Bench.

“In this case, the child was four years old and his whole being and his whole world revolved around his mother,” she said.

“That’s how I saw the judge’s decision: there is no greater betrayal than that between a mother and a child.”

The woman pleaded guilty to zoophilia and was subsequently found guilty at trial of sexual abuse of a person under 16, production and distribution of child pornography, arrangements to commit a sexual offence against a child and two counts of breaching a release order.

The convictions relate to assaults that occurred between 2019 and 2021.

The investigation began after police were contacted in early 2021 with a report that a child had been sexually abused and images of her had been shared on a social media platform.

In her decision, Judge Crooks noted that the woman continually denied responsibility for her actions.

“She appears to justify her actions by claiming that she chatted online with men who had sexually abused her children in an attempt to appease them so they would not seek out other children,” Crooks said.

“She said the same thing about her involvement in sodomy – she didn’t want to do that, but she believed she was providing it so that these people wouldn’t abuse children.”

Morelli said the court saw through the excuses.

“She has a pretty manipulative personality and the court saw through those lies – the court saw through the explanations to see the truth,” she said.

Crooks had accepted the prosecution’s request for an 11-year prison sentence, but Morelli said the sentence had been reduced.

“The court has to weigh whether it is a devastating sentence or not … 11.5 (years) would be appropriate, but in this situation it would be devastating,” Morelli said.

For anyone who has been sexually abused, there is support available through crisis hotlines and local support services through the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety or the safety of others around you, please call 911.