A NSW mother who performed sex acts on her three young children to win the affection of men online has been jailed for at least 17 years.

The woman, 31, filmed the sexual abuse of her son and two daughters, one of whom was just four years old when she involved them in the production of child pornography over a two-year period.

District Court judge Phillip Mahony said the mother made the videos for men she met online as a way of showing she wanted a relationship with them.

“She said she committed the offences out of thinking that men may feel something for her if she satisfied them. She had used her children as a means of getting attention from men,” Judge Mahony said in sentencing the woman to a maximum of 25 years behind bars.

On July 20 the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to eight charges, including sexual intercourse with a person under 10 and possessing child abuse material.