By The Associated Press

LAPORTE — A northern Indiana woman will spend up to 39 years in prison in connection with the sex trafficking of a 12-year-old female relative.

The 38-year-old woman was sentenced Monday in LaPorte Circuit Court, the (Northwest Indiana) Times reported.

She was charged with aiding, inducing or causing child molesting and trafficking of a minor.

She and her boyfriend were charged in 2018. Police have said he fatally shot himself when officers went to his home with an arrest warrant.

The Associated Press is not naming the pair to avoid identifying the girl who police say was a sex crime victim.

LaPorte County police Capt. Brian Piergalski said there were at least four sexual encounters between the man and the girl and that the defendant allegedly was paid $100.

The girl was enticed with money and promises of ice cream and being taken out to dinner, Piergalski said.

The woman said in court that her boyfriend had threatened her.