Her boyfriend is charged with sexual assault and murder in the child's death.
CAMDEN -- A mother who admitted she didn't get medical care for her 23-month-old daughter who died after she had allegedly been brutally sexually assaulted will not be getting out of prison anytime soon.
Because of credits for time served, Amber Bobo, 27, was eligible for parole as soon as she was sentenced to three years in May. But the Parole Board said she needs another 18 months in prison because she does not understand her "criminal behavior" as it relates to the July 2016 death of her daughter, Ariana Smyth.
Authorities have said Smyth died as a result of a sexual assault by Bobo's boyfriend of two weeks, Michael Disporto, 23, on July 2, 2016. Bobo admitted she knew that the girl's injuries were severe in the morning but didn't call for help until her daughter passed out around 6 p.m.
Disporto, who denied the charges against him, including murder, is being held on $1.5 million bail. He is scheduled to go to trial in January.
Bobo, the Parole Board wrote in its September decision, is "in the beginning stages of understanding her behavior on the street. More treatment is needed to help her gain insight."
Bobo's sentence will be up before her new parole eligibility date, on Dec. 12, 2018, according to Department of Correction records. She will end up serving just under 2 1/2 years in total, with credits for good time and work programs, according to the Department of Corrections.
Bobo received the three-year sentence in May after as part of a plea deal after she agreed to testify against Disporto.
According to statement's made by the prosecutor's office, Bobo and Disporto picked her daughter up from the Smyth family and brought her to Bobo's home in Gloucester City July 2, 2016.
Disporto said he wanted to be alone with the child to "get to know her better" and he twice took her out of the house alone, Assistant Prosecutor Christine Shah has said in court. In the morning, Bobo discovered that Disporto had moved Ariana and changed her clothes.
Ariana also had bruising on her head and genitals, but Disporto denied causing them and convinced Bobo not to take the toddler to the hospital, Shah said. The couple took two trips to the mall that day, coming home in the middle to change Ariana's clothes because she had started vomiting, Shah said.
Bobo only called for medical help the night of July 3 after he daughter lost consciousness, the prosecutor's office said.
Ariana had internal injuries, a broken arm and bleeding and fluid on her brain, Shah said. Her father, Robert B. Smyth, made the decision to take his daughter off life support July 5, 10 days before her second birthday, according to statements his family made in court.
Family: Mom's sentence is 'a joke'
In its Notice of Decision on parole, the Parole Board suggested that participating "more programs" in her remaining 18 months in prison would help Bobo gain insights into her behavior.
The board members also noted that they denied parole because they felt Bobo was likely to violate the conditions of release and because of the "facts and circumstances" of the case pertaining to the victim. They also listed that she has no prior convictions or infractions while in custody and was participating in programs at the prison.
Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.