Golden – A homeless single mother accused of having sex with a teenage boy and having a child with him was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison.
Tani Leigh Firkins, 31, pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child as part of a plea bargain in which 11 of 12 felony charges against her were dropped.
Firkins, who had been assisted over several years by the boy’s family, was accused of sexually assaulting the teen numerous times beginning in 2000 when he was 14. She faced a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.
Jefferson County District Court Judge Peter Weir, calling Firkins’ actions “horribly egregious,” also sentenced Firkins to register as a sex offender and prohibited her from having contact with the teen and his family. The sentence also carries a mandatory five-year probation.
“Take care of my babies,” Firkins said to her mother, Dina Montgomery, as she was led from court in handcuffs. Montgomery has custody of Firkins’ daughter, 8, and son, 12.
Firkins told the victim’s family that she was “sorry from the bottom of my heart, for what it’s worth.”
The victim’s family, which The Denver Post is not identifying to protect the victim’s identity, is caring for the 1-year-old daughter of Firkins and the teen.
“I can’t imagine feeling more betrayed by this woman who we helped out of homelessness, and she responded to us by molesting our son for over three years,” the victim’s father said. “That’s not right.”
The victim’s father said the family didn’t feel “any level of joy or victory” and called the judge’s sentence “appropriate.”
The teenage victim told his story Thursday in court, saying that “this is the last place I wanted to be.”
The family, which had argued against a plea bargain, plans to meet with Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey in hopes charges will be filed in Denver, where Firkins also allegedly had sex with the teen and allegedly supplied him with marijuana, alcohol and pornography.
Morrissey has said, “As far as I’m concerned, the investigation in Denver is not closed.”
Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey said he was “very pleased” with the sentence. He defended his office’s plea bargain, saying it allowed the victim to avoid giving testimony and probably resulted in the same sentence.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
