EDMONTON -- The sentencing hearing for two Edmonton women who pleaded to aggravated assault and unlawful confinement after a babysitter found children confined in their basement began Thursday.
The women, who pleaded guilty in September, cannot be named due to a publication ban protecting the identities of the children.
Court has heard the pair, who were in their early 20s at the time, hired a babysitter to go to a party one night in December 2017.
The sitter heard knocking and found two other girls, aged six and three, in the basement. A large dresser had been moved to block the door leading upstairs. The girls were significantly injured, and at the hospital, found to have lice, broken teeth and belt abrasions. One of the girls required plastic surgery to remove dead tissue.
Police seized five children from the home, all of whom were described as being in a "shocking environmental and physical state."
The crown is asked for a seven to eight-year sentence.
The defence will present its submission Friday. The lawyer for one of the women is asking for five years minus credit for pre-trial custody, followed by two years probation. The lawyer for the second woman is asking for four-and-a-half to five years, followed by two or three years probation.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson
