A 30-year-old woman who believed she was in a “fantasy relationship” with her daughter’s 8-year-old playmate admitted having repeated sexual contact with the boy and accepted a plea deal Monday that likely will send her to prison for six years.
Tammy Imre pleaded guilty to two counts of risk of injury to a minor, a reduced charge that the boy’s family accepted to spare both children time on the witness stand.
Imre, a secretary, was arrested in November on sexual assault charges after the boy’s mother found a letter that Imre wrote.
In the letter, police said, Imre told the boy that she didn’t “want anyone but you. Now tomorrow it’s supposed to rain, you can come over we can (you know what). Love ya! I want you!”
Imre admitted engaging in sexual acts with the boy but said the kissing and fondling stopped short of sexual intercourse. The two were in bed together naked at least once, she admitted Monday.
Imre quietly changed her plea to guilty and admitted the facts in the case. Her mother and brother were in court.
State social workers have custody of Imre’s daughter, who told police she saw her mother and the boy doing “disgusting” things.
“This was a big step forward for the family,” said George Ganim, the attorney for the boy’s family.
‘Fantasy relationship’
Defense attorney Donald Papcsy said Imre suffers from a mental problem that made it hard for her to know that what she did was wrong.
“She really believed she was in a fantasy relationship,” Papcsy said.
Imre will be required to register as a sex offender after she is sentenced Nov. 4. The plea deal calls for a 12-year sentence suspended after six years. With an early release and credit for time served, she could be out of prison in four years, Papcsy said.
Prosecutor Cornelius Kelly acknowledged Imre had mental problems but said he had not seen the psychiatrist’s report and said the likelihood of an insanity defense was not a factor in his decision to accept a plea.