Two women plead guilty in Edmonton child abuse case

EDMONTON- Two mothers charged after police found two young girls confined in the basement of an Edmonton home have pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and unlawful confinement.

The women, who were 23 and 24 at the time, had been facing several other charges, including attempted murder, child abandonment and criminal negligence after a babysitter contacted police after she found the girls, aged three and six, in December 2016.

An agreed statement of facts entered in court says the women used a large dresser to block the door to keep the girls from coming upstairs for food and also admitted to putting one of the girls in a cardboard box to discipline her.

Court was told both girls had injuries including bruises and abrasions — with one needing plastic surgery to remove dead tissue.