Mother sentenced to prison for enabling her daughter’s sexual abuse

A 47-year-old mother from northeast Nebraska has been handed a five-to-ten-year prison sentence for her active role in encouraging and facilitating the sexual abuse of her 12-year-old daughter by a 35-year-old man. Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Jason Cooper noted that it was one of only two cases on his docket involving parents who have been prosecuted for child sex assault victim complicity. The woman remains unnamed to protect her daughter’s identity.

The abuser, Joseph Hochstein. was arrested in March 2020 for sexual contact with the 12-year-old, and during the investigation, the mother expressed disbelief that he was abusing her daughter despite incriminating texts showing he had sent her money for the morning-after pill.

After Hochstein’s imprisonment and subsequent work release in 2022, he continued inappropriate contact, asking the mother for permission to take the daughter out of state for marriage. The mother agreed to his proposal, even dropping her 12-year-old daughter off at Hochstein’s work-release job.

The mother’s attorney’s argued that she was manipulated and her life ruined by Hochstein, yet District Judge Darla Ideus sentenced her for being an accessory to child enticement and/or sexual assault of a child. Judge Darla Ideus declared that evidence clearly revealed she knew about and encouraged the sexual assaults, leading to the significant prison term of five to ten years.