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CHILLIWACK - A Fraser Valley woman will spend three years behind bars for allowing her partner to repeatedly sexually abuse her infant daughter.

A Chilliwack judge handed down the decision last month after convicting the woman of being a party to numerous sexual assaults against her daughter. 

However judge William Grist didn't convict the woman of another charge of failing to provide the necessaries of life because the Crown called no evidence that the child would suffer permanent damage from the sexual assaults.

The woman, identified only as "S.K." due to a court-ordered publication ban to protect the identity of her child, began a relationship with a man identified as K.C. and a short time later he moved in to the house S.K. shared with her daughter, identified as M.D.

The facts of the case are egregious and disturbing, detailing potentially hundreds of incidents of K.C. raping and sexually assaulting M.D. The incidents happened over about one year and before M.D. was three years old.

K.C. filmed several encounters with M.D., and the girl's mother was aware of what K.C. was doing with her daughter. She may have even participated in some acts, the judge said.

S.K. finally called police during one of the encounters in October 2012.

When Grist acquitted S.K. of the separate charge of failing to provide the necessaries of life, he said, and Crown admitted, that there was no evidence called to prove the child would permanently be damaged from the prolonged sexual assaults against her.

But Crown did call that evidence at S.K.'s sentencing hearing. M.D.'s caregiver provided a victim impact statement saying the girl has been deeply affected by the assaults, showing over-sexualized behaviour, has difficulty relating to family and is overly affectionate toward strangers.

She also suffers from constant urinary tract infections, perhaps from vast internal scarring although that point was contradicted by other medical reports.

"I have no difficulty accepting the behaviour reported by the (caregiver) as being a consequence of the sexual abuse the child suffered," Grist said in his decision. "It is, in my view, entirely consistent with what a child suffers after this degree of sexual violence."

Crown asked for a sentence of six to eight years behind bars, while defence asked for a suspended sentence with a maximum term of probation, citing S.K.'s mental health issues.

A psychiatric report found indications of a borderline personality disorder, which can lead to a person engaging in frantic efforts to "avoid perceived abandonment in relationships."

Grist sentenced S.K. to three years in jail for her role in allowing her common-law partner to repeatedly, for a prolonged period of time, sexually abuse her young child.

"I am mindful of the fact the defendant ultimately did the right thing, but this was far too late and the history of abuse had been apparent for far too long without any effective intervention by the defendant," Grist said in his decision.

Details of K.C.'s sentence were not made public. 

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