The children victimized by Audrey and Donald Black are on the slow road to recovery after being sexually assaulted by their babysitters.

 

Her defence tells us she is "mentally challenged".

Audrey Black seemed confused at times as she sat in her grey sweat shirt and green cargo pants for sentencing Tuesday in Moose Jaw. But she'll have to wait until May 8th to find out what her sentence will be.

Black has already pleaded guilty to several sex related offences involving children she babysat. Her husband Donald Black has already been sentenced to 8 years in prison.

The investigation that led to the Black's arrest started from a tip from a Child Aide Worker assigned to the family and that's when a large amount of pornography was found in the home.

Police were then sent in to investigate and found photos, videos, and computer files full of images depicting the sexual abuse of 3 young girls under the age of 5 with the youngest being 18 months old.

Defence Attorney Merv Shaw is asking for less than 4 years for his client who has two children of her own. "The department is making an application for permanent wardship and my understanding is that the department is trying to see if a relative can try and take the children on a permanent basis. The department is of the view that Mrs. Black will never look after her own children again."

The Crown is asking for 5 years in prison with several conditions. Some of those conditions forbid contact with children under 14 for life and Black will have to submit a DNA sample to the national sex offender registry. Two conditions that caused Black to weep during the hearing.

A lot of stress can come from dealing with such a traumatic experience and that is being blamed by friends for the death of the mother of two of the victims.

A family friend is now doing everything she can to get the children out of foster homes and together as a family. "I've lost my best friend due to all of this who unfortunately past away February 21st due to all the stress and stuff that the Black's have caused. The kids are quite confused. They're not sure what's going on and want to go home but that's going to take some time. I'm in the middle of a nasty battle with Social Services trying to get them together in my care."

We have decided not to name her to protect the privacy of the victims.