August 11, 2016
OTTAWA (AFP) - A 33-year-old mother has been charged with sexually assaulting her own children -- a four-year-old and a teenager -- casting them in child pornography and prostituting the youngest daughter, police said Wednesday.
The woman, whose identity was withheld to protect the children, had been in custody on an assault charge that has been upgraded to attempted murder, the Niagara Regional Police Service said in a statement.
"This accused female is the biological mother of two female victims under the age of 18 years old, the youngest being four years of age," Constable Philip Gavin said.
"The charges are based on allegations that she was sexually assaulting both of her children," he said.
Some of the alleged assaults against her eldest daughter date back approximately six years ago, according to police. The victim would have been 12 years old at the time.
The woman is also accused of distributing sexually explicit images of her daughters "for her own personal gain," police said.
A total of six children between the ages of four and 17 were identified from pornographic images uncovered by police, and rescued.
Five men were also charged in the case, including the target of the alleged attempted murder.
