A mother who, the court said, had been living in a 'nightmare scenario' was today conditionally discharged for 18 months after being convicted of beating her young daughter and slightly injuring her.

The mother had been accused of beating her daughter when she was 13 years old in 2002. She was also accused of slightly injuring her and defiling her,

The court observed that the child was mentally retarded but physically developed very early and at age 11 looked like an 18-year-old.

This early physically development, seen in the context of the girl's mental retardation, serious speech defects and a consequent communication problem, created major difficulties for her mother to teach her about acceptable behaviour, the court said.

The court said the girl used to walk around at home practically undressed. Her mother, who came from a low socio-economic level and who had her own educational problems, was worried that her son and her husband were sexually abusing of the girl and had reacted by doing her best to try to control her son.

She had also tried to control and correct her daughter, by hitting her with a thin piece of wood on her feet, in a way which, however, exceeded what was acceptable in society, the court said.

"No court can ignore a situation where a parent, in order to correct a child, hits him or her with a piece of wood, however lightly."

The court, however, said, however that it found no evidence that the mother was an accomplice in the defilement of her daughter. Indeed, she had done her best to counter the terrible circumstances in which the family had found itself in.

The fact that she had not sought help from Appogg or other agencies stemmed from the fact that she did not know about them.

The court said it had followed the progress of this girl, including the time when she was under a care order and when she was at Mt Carmel Hospital until she was placed in sheltered accommodation.

The court ordered that the mother should follow a course on parental and coping skills and probation officers should submit a report about the mother to the court every four months.