Woman pleads guilty to Skyping child abuse

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TRENTON, N.J., May 10 (UPI) -- A New Jersey woman pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 5-year-old girl she was babysitting and streaming a video of the incident on the Internet.

Jennifer Mahoney, 33, of Manapalan Township admitted in federal court in Trenton Wednesday she had sexually abused the girl on multiple occasions, once using the streaming service Skype to broadcast a live video of the assault on the Internet, The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger reported Thursday. The federal complaint lodged against Mahoney in January said the approximately 4-minute-long video showed the child, apparently asleep in a bed, while Mahoney knelt beside her and sexually abused her.

On another occasion described in the complaint, Mahoney videorecorded an attack with her cellphone, while the girl was in a bathtub, and e-mailed the recording to a friend.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman's office said Mahoney pleaded guilty "sexual exploitation of a child," which, The Star-Ledger said is the legal terminology for production of child pornography. She faces a 15- to 30-year sentence in federal prison.

Mahoney will be sentenced Aug. 22.