An Indiana woman let her live-in boyfriend sexually abuse and impregnate her 10-year-old daughter. Jennifer Hand pleaded guilty Tuesday (Sept. 25) to charges of neglect, aiding child molesting and assisting a criminal.
Hand, 33, will serve a 20 year prison sentence plus five years probation. She chose a plea deal instead of going to trial. At Tuesday’s court hearing, Hand admitted to letting 34-year-old Nicholas Thrash abuse the child while he lived in her home.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Hand moved to Indiana with her daughter and boyfriend, because the girl reported the abuse to local authorities in Georgia. Thrash was convicted on 10 counts of molestation and sentenced to 160 years in prison last week. He plans to appeal the conviction.
During his trail, the victim testified that her mother made her take a pregnancy test in May of 2017, at which point she told her the she was being molested. Hand took the child to get an abortion, which triggered an investigation from the Indiana Department of Child Services and Thrash’s subsequent arrest. Hand is also accused of lying to police about his whereabouts. She was arrested in May of 2017.
The young girl now lives in foster care and is receiving therapy, the Associated Press reports. Hand agreed not to have contact with her, until the child’s counselor outlines an “appropriate” time.
The girl, now aged 12, was assaulted at least 15 times, beginning when she was 8 years old. According to AP, the girl gave birth to a baby boy last year, who was put up for adoption.
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