Mom on trial for teen's piercing

NAPLES - A 39-year-old woman is on trial for having her 13-year-old daughter's genitalia pierced to make it uncomfortable for her to have sex.

The girl, now 16, told jurors Wednesday how her mother in 2004 asked a tattoo artist friend to shave her head to make her unattractive to boys and later held her down for the piercing.

Prosecutor Steve Maresca said the mother called on a friend to shave the girl's head and do the piercing after realizing that she had been having sex - including with the mother's boyfriend.

Defense attorney Donald Day told jurors that the mother had trouble with her daughter and that the girl agreed to the piercing to rebuild her mother's trust.

Child welfare officials were called after the girl became infected from the piercing.

The mother, whose name is being withheld to protect her daughter's identity, could get 30 years in prison if convicted.

Tammy Meredith, 43, who did the piercing, was sentenced to a year in jail for her role. An arrest warrant has been issued for the mother's boyfriend for allegedly having sex with the girl.

[Last modified October 26, 2007, 00:21:38]