Two women facing charges in a child abuse case dating back to 2017 have pleaded guilty to some of the charges on Tuesday.

Five children were seized from a north Edmonton home on Dec. 16, 2017 after police received a tip from a babysitter about conditions at the home.

The children, all of whom were under the age of 10 at the time, were found in what police called a “shocking environmental and physical state”.

The women, who have not been named because of their relationship with the children, were charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, child abandonment, unlawful confinement and criminal negligence.

The two women were 23 and 24 years old at the time of the alleged offences. They pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and unlawful confinement in connection with two of the children.

Agreed statement of facts

According to the agreed statement of facts, the women went to a party and left the children with a babysitter.

Three of the children had bedrooms upstairs, while the other two, who were three and six years old at the time, were confined to the basement.

A large dresser was blocking the basement when the women went out to keep the girls from coming upstairs to steal food.

The babysitter let the two girls out of the basement after she heard knocking.

The girls were wearing pull-up diapers, and one had significant physical injuries. They asked for food and water.

The women returned home after seven and a half hours, and one of them drove the babysitter home. Then she contacted the police.

The basement in the house was unfinished and did not have a bathroom, and no food or water was kept in the basement.

An officer described the temperature as very hot, and noted the smell of urine. Urine and feces was also found on the basement floor and on a cardboard moving box.

Injuries to the girls

At the hospital, doctors found that both girls had lice.

One of the girls had a blister on her hip, jaundice in her eyes, bruising to the left flank of her abdomen and on her backside. She also had dried feces on her body. Her injuries required plastic surgery to the left hip and buttocks to remove dead tissue.

The other girl had broken teeth and abrasions on her back, leg and torso, described as imprints from a belt that will never fade.

The women also admitted to putting one of the girls in a cardboard box to discipline her to keep her from trying to get up the basement stairs and turn on the lights.

With files from David Ewasuk