Pa. woman sentenced for facilitating abuse of tot

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) -November 28, 2012

Twenty-four-year-old Samantha Mathers, of Williamsport, was sentenced Tuesday on charges including conspiracy and sexual exploitation of children for offenses involving the young girl and a New York man she met online and later married.

Investigators say Mathers held and comforted the child during one April 2011 encounter with 39-year-old Richard Lafayette, of Watertown, N.Y. Lafayette is currently serving a sentence of at least 7 years.

The Williamsport Sun-Gazette reports Lycoming County Judge Marc Lovecchio chastised Mathers for presenting the child to Lafayette on a "silver platter."

Mathers' attorney said her client was abused as a child and victimized by Lafayette.

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