Twisted single mum, 21, who pimped out a 14-year-old girl to older men for $350 a night breaks down in tears as she loses appeal over jail sentence
- Mother Monika Kelly pimped out an underage girl for money using a dating app
- The teenage victim once earned $350 for one night at a hotel in Auckland, NZ
- Kelly's lawyer made appeal against his client's two-and-a-half year sentence
- He said the woman's young age and her duty as a mother had to be considered
A single mum who was sent to jail for pimping out a vulnerable teenage girl through a sugar daddy and sugar baby app has lost her appeal.
Monika Rachael Kelly, 21, was jailed last December after she arranged for a then-14-year-old girl - who she met through a mutual friend - to sleep with older men at Auckland hotels in New Zealand.
Kelly was given a two-and-a-half year sentence, though defence lawyer Ron Mansfield argued for house arrest instead, NZ Herald reported.
Mr Mansfield made the appeal in February and said Kelly's young age had to be taken into consideration as well as her difficult background and responsibilities for her pre-school son.
A single mum who was sent to jail for pimping out a vulnerable teenage girl through a sugar daddy and sugar baby app has lost her appeal (pictured, single-mum Monika Rachael Kelly during her sentencing last December)
Kelly was given a two-and-a-half year sentence, though defence lawyer Ron Mansfield argued for house arrest instead
She would also have better prospects of rehabilitation under home detention rather than jail, Mr Mansfield argued.
Though Court of Appeal judges Justice Christine French, Robert Dobson and Timothy Brewer rejected the appeal on the 'need for deterrence and denunciation of such offending.'
The three judges admitted the original sentence was 'not an easy exercise'.
'But it was one thoughtfully constructed where we have not found that any error occurred,' their decision reads.
The victim, now 16, had run away from home before she met Kelly through a mutual friend.
While the teenager stayed at her house, Kelly set up a profile for the girl on Seeking Arrangements and said she was 18 or 19.
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Under this guise, the victim had sex with much older men for money four times at Auckland hotels and brought in as much as $350 in one night.
Oranga Tamariki - Ministry for Children - took the victim out of Kelly's care for a brief period of time, and police began investigating the mother-of-one in July 2017 before she was arrested.
Speaking to a clinical psychologist, Kelly argued she thought the victim was older than 16, though younger than 18.
'I am sure you knew her real age after the first incident,' Justice Matthew Downs told her in court.
'I am not persuaded you are genuinely remorseful.'
Court documents also stated Kelly had tried to prevent witnesses from providing evidence to police during the investigation.
Crown prosecutor Ben Finn accepted Kelly never coerced or threatened the teenager, but recognised the victim was sometimes reluctant to participate.
In her impact statement, the victim said Kelly 'took her in during a challenging time in her life and [was] exploiting her'.
While the teenager stayed at her house, Kelly set up a profile for the girl on Seeking Arrangements and said she was 18 or 19
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