Australian woman who had baby with boy is jailed

A woman who had regular sex with her daughter’s 12-year-old friend and fathered his baby was Monday jailed for up to six years, with the judge saying she took away his childhood.

The Melbourne mother-of-three, who cannot be named to protect the boy and the baby’s identity, was 36 when she began driving her daughter and her friend to school in 2011.

The Victoria County Court heard that she admitted developing feelings for the child and began a relationship with him, with the pair having sex without using condoms.

The Melbourne Age newspaper reported that the abuse went on for two years and she became pregnant, giving birth to a girl in May last year when the boy was 14.

When the victim’s parents found out about the relationship, they confronted the woman and reported her to police. A DNA test confirmed he was the baby’s father.

“You failed to recognize that your feelings for the boy were completely inappropriate,” Judge Jane Patrick said. “You commenced and continued an abusive sexual relationship.”

In a victim impact statement, the boy’s mother said the woman’s actions had affected her entire family.

“She has described how you have taken away his childhood and the difficulties he has had adjusting to fatherhood and what has happened to him,” the judge said, adding that the woman was supposed to be taking care of the boy and had breached his trust.

The woman was sentenced to a maximum of six years in jail after pleading guilty to the persistent sexual abuse of a child under the age of 16. She must serve at least three years and six months.