Police say a Niagara Region woman sexually assaulted her two young daughters and sold explicit photos of them as part of an alleged sexual exploitation ring that targeted children as young as four.
Investigators say the 33-year-old woman, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of the children, also made her four-year-old daughter available for others to sexually assault.
Five men are facing multiple charges in the investigation, which began last November and led officers to seize more than 60 electronic devices.
The men range from 27 to 38 years old, and the charges include sexual assault with a weapon against someone under 16 as well as child pornography-related offences.
One of the accused, a 29-year-old man, is charged only with attempted murder.
The woman is also charged with attempted murder in an alleged assault on the 38-year-old accused. Police say that incident took place in November and prompted the sexual exploitation investigation.
Police say they rescued six children, all of them known to the accused, as part of their investigation and no others are believed to have been at risk.
