Children look to their mothers for love and protection. And mothers give both in abundance.
Usually.
But there are exceptions. Some horrific exceptions.
April Corcoran is one. Corcoran, 32, from the small Ohio town called Pleasant Plain, was in court this week to be sentenced for crimes so horrible it's hard to imagine.
But this wasn't the product of some sick imagination. No, it was very real.
Corcoran is the mother of a 13-year-old girl. Well, at least she gave birth to her.
She also traded her for drugs. Corcoran was indicted last year on charges she allowed a drug dealer to repeatedly rape and sodomize her daughter, then 11, in exchange for heroin.
If that's not bad enough, Corcoran forced her daughter to use heroin. She called it a "reward" for sex with the dope dealer.
She eventually pleaded guilty to trafficking in persons, complicity to rape, endangering children and corrupting another with drugs.
This week, she was sentenced to 51 years in prison. The judge called her case "by far the worst thing that has come before this court."
The drug dealer goes to trial next month on a variety of charges.
The girl is living with her father and stepmother in another state. She is getting treatment, but is reportedly, at times, suicidal.
We wish her the best. We hope she somehow recovers.
This happened in a small town with a bucolic name. But in truth, this kind of thing or some equally horrific abuse happens everywhere. Including the Twin Cities.
That's why it is so important for family members, neighbors, teachers and other adults be aware of any signs of abuse. And to report any suspicions to the proper authorities. You can find out more at
childwelfare.gov/topics/can/identifying.
Maybe someone could have seen the signs in Ohio. Maybe not. But reporting suspicions can mean a huge difference in a child's life. It can even mean a child's life.