Carolina Woman Allows Sex Act on Daughter, 12

(Cleveland County, North Carolina) A 35-year-old local woman, Shayla M. Benton Roberts, has been sentenced for allowing a sexual act to be performed on her 12-year-old daughter.

Roberts pleaded guilty to felony child abuse of a sexual act.

Assistant District Attorney Beth Lari said the woman knew a sex act had been committed on her daughter but did not report the crime.

Lari said the girl told her mother about the incident and the man who committed the act said the child’s mother knew what was going on.

The man who committed the act has admitted to the crime and is being evaluated, Lari said.

She said his case has not yet been disposed in court.

As a result of the guilty plea, Roberts was given a suspended sentence, probation and a 90-day split sentence in the Cleveland County Law Enforcement Center. Roberts was also ordered to register as a sex offender.