Homeless Woman Who Gave Birth to Teen's Child Sentenced

GOLDEN, Colo., Aug. 26, 2005 — -- A homeless mother has been sentenced to nine years in prison for having sex with the teenage son of a family that took her in.

Tani Leigh Firkins, 31, had a three-year affair with the son of a homeless-program director that began when the boy was only 14. The victim, now 19, fathered a baby boy as a result of the affair. He could have started college this fall, but he is helping his parents raise the child.

Firkins could have been sentenced to 12 years in prison for felony sexual exploitation of a minor. The victim's family said at Thursday's sentencing in Jefferson County Court that no criminal sentence could change the fact that two families and several lives had been devastated by Firkins' betrayal of their friendship and trust.

"This is a very sad occasion," the victim's father said. "A lot of lives have been devastated. We aren't experiencing any level of joy or victory or any of those kinds of things at all."

According to the criminal affidavit, the victim said Firkins first performed oral sex on him in 2000 at a storage facility in Arvada, Colo., when he was helping her move. The teen told the police the two later had sex on numerous occasions, and Firkins also videotaped the two having sex.

The Jefferson County District Attorney's Office originally filed 12 felony counts against Firkins, but 11 of them were dropped as part of her plea bargain in June. Charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, marijuana sale and distribution, and sex assault on a child were thrown out when Firkins admitted felony sexual exploitation of a child.

The victim's father said he first arranged housing for Firkins in 1993 and helped her out of homelessness three times. He said she was like a member of the family, regularly went to church with them, celebrated holidays with them and gave the victim's parents cards for Mother's Day and Father's Day.

The family first learned about the relationship between Firkins and the teen when she gave birth to their child in September 2004, prompting him to tell his parents.