A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a Searcy woman, convicted of allowing a man to have sex with her teenage daughter in exchange for pills, to 10 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson handed down the minimum mandatory sentence to Shannon Adams, 43, who was convicted in March of taking her daughter to a man's home, where the daughter engaged in a sexual act so Adams could get two morphine pills. Adams had been facing a charge of production of child pornography, but a jury acquitted her of that.

As a part of her sentence, Adams will also spend five years on supervised release once she is released from prison. While on release, Adams must abide by several conditions, including registering as a sex offender and abstaining from contact with youths without approval.

"She's a drug addict," Wilson said. "And when she did that, she was a drug addict. This is a tragic situation. There's no doubt about it."

She and Don Ray Harris, 59, of Heber Springs were each indicted in 2012 on charges of producing child pornography. Authorities continued the investigation and added more charges, all of which concerned events on Oct. 31, 2011.

On that day, Adams and her teenage daughter went to Harris' Heber Springs home, where the daughter showed Harris her breasts so her mother could have two morphine pills, prosecutors have said. Harris continued to touch the girl, who was 16 at the time, and performed oral sex on her before taking two nude photographs of her, attorneys have said.

After agreeing to testify in Adams' trial, Harris pleaded guilty to having child pornography, and three other charges against him -- producing child porn, sex trafficking of a minor and felon in possession of a firearm -- were dropped. Harris was sentenced to five years of supervised release with several conditions, including participating in sex-offender treatment and substance abuse treatment programs.

Adams' attorney Mark Jesse tried to reduce her sentence, saying she should receive credit for accepting responsibility. Jesse pointed to Adams' attempts to reach a plea deal with the government, which he said were refused.

"[Harris] got a better deal," Jesse said. "[Adams] got no deal."

Prosecutor Mike Gordon said he couldn't talk about any plea offers in the case, as he entered the case a week before trial. Gordon contended Adams didn't accept responsibility for her actions.

"From her testimony ... she was the victim, not [her daughter]," Gordon said.

The sentencing followed testimony from Adams' family -- her father, two siblings and one of her six children -- who all said she was a loving, protective mother. The daughter involved in the case was not in the courtroom.

Adams' father, Gene Bennett, said his daughter struggled after her husband left her while she was pregnant and her mother died.

"Her previous life has been pretty wretched," said Bennett, who has custody of at least one of his daughter's children. Adams, dressed in a blue jail jumpsuit, wiped her eyes and cheeks as her father spoke on her behalf.

Bennett and Tiffany Fox, one of Adams' daughters, pleaded with the judge to let Adams return to her family, especially her children.

"This little girl came to my bed in tears, sobbing," Bennett said of Adams' youngest daughter. "She would see me awake and she would say, 'I want my mama. I want my mama.'"

Adams shaded her eyes and gasped for air, as more tears streamed down her face.

Some family members testifying about the case bashed the victim, prompting Gordon to object. Wilson overruled the first objection, which the prosecutor raised as Bennett spoke of the year he raised the victim.

Gordon raised a second objection when Adams' sister, Yvette Rand, testified. He argued the family was attempting to retry the case even though a jury had already convicted Adams on the sex trafficking charge. That time, Wilson sustained the objection.

None of the family members were in Harris' home when the acts happened, Gordon said. The judge and jury heard from all three of the people who were in the home at that time, he said.

Adams could have been a good mother, but she was addicted to pills and traded her daughter for them, Gordon said.

"That cannot be forgotten," he said. "That's why we're here."

Metro on 06/06/2014