Christina Sykora Sentenced To 18 Years For Allowing Boyfriend To Sexually Assault Child

An Aurora woman was sentenced to 18 years in prison Thursday after being convicted of permitting her boyfriend to rape a young female relative who had been in her care.

Christina Sykora, 40, pleaded guilty Thursday to the felony charge of permitting the sexual abuse of a child, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Her boyfriend, Sabino Martinez, also received an 18 year prison sentence after he pled guilty to predatory criminal sexual abuse of a child in August. Both must now register as sex offenders for life.

At least once, Sykora offered up her young relative to Martinez to have sex instead of her. According to prosecutors, she watched the abuse as it took place. The child was reportedly younger than 10 at the time of the abuse.

According to the Daily Herald, prosecutors argued that Sykora locked the door to the bedroom and allowed the abuse to continue even as the victim "cried out to her."

DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin called the case "one of the most disturbing cases to come through my office in recent times" in a statement.

"Words cannot describe the physical and emotional pain that this poor child endured caused by the complete betrayal of a trusted relative," Berlin said. "My heart goes out to her."

Sykora, who was said to have a history of mental illness, was last year found unfit for trial, but was cleared for the recent trial after she was treated at a state mental health facility, the Daily Herald reports. She will be required to serve at least half of her sentence before she is eligible for parole.