She is accused of soliciting daughter, 16

An Anne Arundel County woman forced her 16-year-old daughter to have sex with men for cash and drugs, telling the girl the family needed the money for food, police said yesterday.

The 34-year-old mother, who The Sun is not naming to protect the identity of her daughter, was arrested Tuesday at her Annapolis home and charged with child abuse, sexual solicitation of a minor, prostitution and other counts, according to charging documents. She is being held at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center in lieu of $200,000 bond.

The alleged abuse began in February 2007 and continued for months, until the girl reported it to police in June, said Officer Hal Dalton, a spokesman for the Annapolis Police Department.

The girl said her mother told her "it was a good way to make money," according to charging documents.

The girl slept with a 59-year-old man, who paid $150 to the girl, and $50 to the mother for arranging the encounters, which took place in the girl's home and in the bathroom of a neighbor, charging documents said. She also had sex with a 24-year-old man, who would pay with crack cocaine, which, she said, her mother would sell.

Yesterday, Dalton said investigators have determined the identity of the men, but no arrests had been made. He said the investigation is continuing.

"After the first time, I was crying and shaking," the girl told police, according to charging documents. "My mom gave me a line of coke to calm me down. ... She told me it would be OK."

The mother, who police said is unemployed, faces a prison sentence of more than 80 years if convicted on all charges.

The girl has been staying with family members in the Baltimore area since she reported the incidents to police. Two younger girls, half-sisters of the girl who was allegedly abused, are also staying with family members.

Dalton said there is no indication that the younger girls were subjected to any abuse.