Mom accused of sexually trafficking her 11-year-old daughter for heroin receives sentence

April Corcoran: Woman pleads guilty to trafficking daughter to dealer for heroin
April Corcoran: Woman pleads guilty to trafficking daughter to dealer for heroin

A woman who admitted to sexually trafficking her 11-year-old daughter in exchange for heroin will likely spend the rest of her life in prison.

April Corcoran, 32, was sentenced to 51 years to life on Tuesday by Ohio Judge Leslie Ghiz, who said this is one of the worst cases she has seen in her career.

According to prosecutors, Corcoran took elaborate steps to make her daughter appear younger than 11 to appeal to her drug dealer, who reportedly liked young children.


Hamilton County Sheriff's Office

WLWT reported that the alleged dealer Shandell Willingham, 42, who pleaded guilty in 2015 and is currently in jail, recorded some of the sex acts on video.

According to WKRC, the girl's grandmother, Sylvia Corcoran, spoke out against Corcoran in court. "I viewed the tape. I saw my granddaughter. I heard her small voice," she said. "It was horrific, very horrific. How could she do this? How could she do this? I don't know if my granddaughter is going to be able to have a normal life."

Prosecutors say that after the dealer was done raping the child, her mother would call her child a brave little girl and "reward" her by injecting her with drugs.

"Sometimes this defendant would give a little bit of heroin to her daughter,"Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Katie Pridemore told WLWT. "The daughter didn't want it but she said, 'You're a good girl, you did the right thing.'"

The child is currently living out of state with her father, stepmother and two siblings, according to WKRC.

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