A couple face trial in Russia after being accused of raping their own 12-year-old daughter.

The child's mother told police: 'Better us than some maniac.'

The married couple - both 34 - are accused of paedophilia after turning their child into a 'sex slave', law enforcement sources say.

They have been remanded in custody in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) and, if convicted, face up to 20 years in jail.

The couple (pictured) - both 34 - are accused of paedophilia after turning their child into a 'sex slave', law enforcement sources say

They have been remanded in custody in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) and, if convicted, face up to 20 years in jail. Pictured: Their home in the city

The girl was subjected to horrific and frequent sexual abuse from December 2016 to March 2017, it is alleged.

The unnamed father is accused of raping the girl - often with the mother in the same bed - 'every other day'

She is separately accused of sexually 'torturing' the child with an 'artificial penis'.

Ahead of the criminal trial, the parents have been stripped of their parental rights, meaning they will never raise their child.

The girl has been put into care.

The mother told police she was herself raped as a 13-year-old.

She claimed to officers that she and her husband agreed to 'train their daughter in advance for adult life'.

The girl's horrific ordeal was spotted after she went to a doctor with 'problems concerning her periods'.

The medics discovered that she was 'not a virgin'.

The child told investigators about the sexual abuse she suffered, it was reported.

Ahead of the criminal trial, the parents have been stripped of their parental rights, meaning they will never raise their child. Pictured: A general view of Volgograd

The girl's horrific ordeal was spotted after she went to a doctor with 'problems concerning her periods'. Pictured: A general view of Volgograd

The couple then allegedly confessed to the horrific abuse they inflicted on their child.

They believed 'it was better for the child to lose her virginity with her own father' than learn details of sexual life in other ways, reports added.

She was forced to sleep in the same bed as her parents where she was subjected to sexual attacks.

Her mother admitted her daughter was made to take part in 'threesomes' with her parents.

The girl's grandmother and great grandmother lived in the same flat but had no idea of the sexual abuse, police explained.