State Courts

Prosecutors say mom had history of prostituting daughters

By Ron Sylvester

A 48-year-old Wichita woman is accused of prostituting her 5-year-old daughter, but prosecutors say it wasn’t the first time.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston is seeking a judge’s permission to introduce testimony from two of the woman’s grown daughters, who said she sold them for sex when they were between the ages of 8 and 14.

Judge Greg Waller will hear evidence this afternoon, under a law that allows information about prior bad acts if it serves to show a pattern of behavior relevant to the crime charged.

The woman is charged along with the man who prosecutors say paid for sex with the 5-year-old on several occasions . After the case of the girl came to light with state social services and police, the older daughters came forward and told what happened to them. According to court records, they’ve said their mother began selling them for sex “to put food on the table” while she worked as an exotic dancer in the early 1990s.

This morning, Waller denied a request by the couple’s defense to exclude news reporters from the trial, which is set for March.

Full post as published by What the Judge Ate for Breakfast on January 23, 2009 (boomark / email).