Mother Sentenced For Sending Nude Pics Of Daughter

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A Luther woman who sent nude pictures of her 12-year-old daughter to a man she met on the Internet was sentenced to two years in prison. Andrea Renee Bellows, 37, admitted taking

Thursday, July 19th 2007, 10:57 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A Luther woman who sent nude pictures of her 12-year-old daughter to a man she met on the Internet was sentenced to two years in prison. Andrea Renee Bellows, 37, admitted taking pictures of her daughter at the urging of a man she had met in an Internet chat room, according to court documents. She pleaded guilty in May to felony counts of distributing obscene materials and procuring participation of a minor in images depicting sexual activity.

Bellows came to the attention of authorities after she unintentionally sent one of the photos to a daytime talk show when she signed up for a television makeover contest in October 2004, according to court papers. She had meant to send a picture of herself with a tiger.

Prosecutors on Wednesday urged Oklahoma County District Judge Ray Elliott to send Bellows to prison for five years because she has not accepted responsibility for her actions.

Defense attorney David Slane acknowledged Bellows had used ``horrible judgment'' by sending the pictures of her daughter to a stranger, but he insisted she had learned from her mistakes.

He said she has not been in any further trouble since the allegations against her came to light in 2004 after a producer for ``Live With Regis and Kelly'' contacted authorities after receiving an e-mail from Bellows with a picture of a naked young girl.

Elliott acknowledged Bellows' case was a difficult one because it appears she is on the road to rehabilitation, but he insisted she had to be punished for failing to protect her daughter from a man who could have been a sexual predator.

The judge sentenced Bellows to 10 years in prison, but suspended eight years of that term. He also ordered her not to have access to the Internet during her probation.