An Illawarra mother who subjected her teenage daughter to horrible degradation by allowing her to work as a prostitute has been sentenced to two and a half years' jail.The 43-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, emailed an altered copy of the girl's birth certificate to the Liaisons Escort Agency at Edgecliff after the 16-year-old was persuaded to work as a prostitute late last year.During her time there, the teen worked under the pseudonym Layla and participated in a variety of sexual acts with some 18 clients, many of whom were abusive and forced her to take drugs.One slapped her face, while another pushed her against a wall and said "You're my dirty bitch", expecting her to repeat it, the court heard.The teen had since "endured hell and back", struggling to understand how a mother could allow her child to have sex with strangers for money, a victim impact statement revealed."My mum, the one who was meant to have my best interest at heart, betrayed my trust and put me in danger," she said.The statement also detailed how the girl had self-harmed - on one occasion carving the word "slut" into her leg - and had tried to commit suicide since working at the agency.Yesterday, Wollongong District Court Judge Paul Conlon said the woman's actions constituted an "extreme breach of trust", particularly because the teen was emotionally fragile before she began working at the brothel."Parents have an overriding responsibility to keep their children from harm's way and to shield them from evil," he said."The commission of these crimes by the offender involved an extreme breach of trust ... her daughter was obviously in a fragile emotional and psychological state and therefore deserving of special care and attention from her mother."The mother had a history of depression and abuse which contributed to her poor parenting decisions, the court heard.She also admitted to the court she felt "horrible, remorseful and ashamed".The woman, who pleaded guilty to inciting her under-age daughter to participate in child prostitution and receiving money from child prostitution, would serve her minimum 18-month jail sentence in protective custody. She will be eligible for release in April 2012.