Pictures of daughter lead to mom's guilty plea

DUCHESNE – A Duchesne County woman has admitted that she took nude photos of her teenage daughter so the girl could send them to an Oregon man.

The 35-year-old woman pleaded guilty Thursday in 8th District Court to one count of child abuse, a third-degree felony. She was initially charged in May with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, and now faces a possible sentence of up to 5 years in prison when she is sentenced Feb. 14.

The Deseret News typically does not report the identities of victims of sex crimes and therefore is not publishing the name of the mother of the victim.

In April, the 13-year-old girl disclosed to investigators that Daniel Dean Divine, a family friend living in Oregon, sent her an iPhone and asked her to use it to send him nude photos of herself, according to charging documents.

"(The girl) stated she realized Daniel was older and wanted to have sex, so she took the photos just to keep him happy," the charges state. "(The girl) asked her mother to take the photos of her when she could not figure out how to make the camera on the iPhone work."

Duchesne County sheriff's detectives said the girl's mother agreed to her daughter's request, taking three nude photos of the teen.

The woman also told investigators that her daughter and Divine planned to wait until the girl was 18 years old to engage in a sexual relationship, the charges state.

Divine, 31, is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, and one count of enticing a minor over the Internet, a class A misdemeanor.

As part of her plea agreement with prosecutors, the girl's mother has agreed to testify against Divine.

Divine remained in the Duchesne County Jail. His next court appearance is set for Dec. 20.

E-mail: gliesik@desnews.com Twitter: GeoffLiesik