A woman who paid two girls to bash her own boyfriend's rape victim for reporting him to the police has been found guilty.
On Tuesday, Debra Yvonne Warren appeared before a Ballarat jury in Victoria, where she was found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Warren organised to pay two teenage girls to bash a girl who was raped by her boyfriend Wayne Jeffrey Smith in 2017.
She plotted the attack after the victim made a complaint to police about the rape, but the two girls didn't go ahead with the bashing without her knowing, the court heard.
Warren's barrister, Shane Kennedy, told the court his client had experienced a difficult life with Smith over the span of their 18-year relationship.
'The frightening, dictatorial regime that he influenced on the family has worn Debra Warren down substantially,' Mr Kennedy said.
Mr Kennedy said Warren has cut all ties with Smith and urged the court to consider a community corrections order, but Judge Paul Lacava said it wouldn't be appropriate.
'I regard this offending as very serious. Extremely serious,' Judge Lacava said.
He also told the court the maximum jail sentence for attempting to pervert the course of justice was 25 years in jail.