Pensacola woman who helped boyfriend rape 11-year-old sentenced to life in prison
The Office of the State Attorney announced that a 37-year-old Pensacola woman who helped her boyfriend rape an 11-year-old girl will spend the rest of her life in a Florida prison.
On Tuesday, Escambia Circuit Judge John Simon sentenced Sammi-Jo Lorn Combs to life in prison followed by a 45-year sentence after she pleaded no contest to one count of sexual battery by a person in familial authority, three counts of lewd or lascivious battery of a victim between 12 and 15 years old and one count of child abuse without great bodily harm.
"A victim of egregious child abuse like this will never live the same way after their traumatic experience," said prosecutor Carrie Gilmer. "That is why someone who has abused a child in this manner should never be allowed to carry on with their lives like normal either."
Snipes convicted: A Pensacola man sexually abused an 11-year-old for 3 years. Now, he faces 8 life sentences.
10 life sentences: Pensacola man convicted of child rape issued 10 life sentences
According to the release, the investigation began after the victim disclosed that Combs and her boyfriend Larry Snipes had been sexually abusing the child for three years. The abuse began when the child was 11 years old.
During the three years of abuse, Snipes would force the child to have sex and perform sex acts "on him every day, sometimes twice a day," his arrest report said.
Snipes and Combs would also frequently give the child Lortabs and Xanax without a prescription to calm her down before they abused her. Combs testified during Snipes' trial that she participated in the abuse and ultimately entered the no contest plea in her own case.
Snipes was found guilty of 10 child sex abuse charges that include four capital felony counts of sexual battery on a child under 12 years old, four first-degree felony counts of custodial sexual battery, a third-degree felony count of child abuse without great bodily harm and one third-degree felony count of distributing obscene material to a minor.
Snipes was previously sentenced to serve ten life sentences on May 31, 2023, for his abuse of the victim.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida woman Sammi-Jo Combs gets life in Pensacola sex abuse case
