An Edmonton babysitter who rescued two abused sisters locked in a basement says she's relieved the women responsible have admitted to their crimes.

This week, the girls' mother and roommate, who can't be identified due to a publication ban, pleaded guilty in Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench to charges including aggravated assault and unlawful confinement.

"I'm just thankful that the kids are not with them, and that they are still in jail and they're not hurting anybody," said the babysitter, Justice Taylor, 21, in an interview with CBC on Wednesday.

The plight of the sisters, ages 3 and 6, only came to the attention of authorities when Taylor took action.

In December 2017, the girls were among five children Taylor was babysitting in a northeast townhouse. Their mothers, who went out to party, told Taylor all the children were asleep upstairs.

Justice Taylor was hired to babysit, but ended up rescuing two young sisters who had been abused and locked in their basement. Two women have pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and unlawful confinement in the case. 2:38

But after the women left, Taylor heard a little girl's voice calling her from the other side of the basement door.

She pushed aside a heavy dresser and swung the door open to find the two sisters bruised, bloody and begging for food.

The sisters were locked in the basement with just a mattress and no food or running water. (Court exhibit)

After feeding them, Taylor coaxed the girls to tell her how they had been hurt. She made a video of the older girl's injuries and later called police. The roommate's three children showed no signs of abuse.

"I still think back to it often," Taylor said. "I have a dream about it every now and then."

'Solid proof'

Taylor's video and testimony were key evidence in the case that ended in a plea deal on Tuesday. The women are expected to be sentenced in December.

"It was my first instinct to capture this, in case they tried to deny it or cover it up," Taylor said. "I wanted to have solid proof that this child was in very bad care."

According to an agreed statement of facts, the abuse went on for nearly half a year. Beatings with a belt were so severe that the older girl required plastic surgery. The youngest girl needed dental surgery to fix her broken front teeth.

She was confined in a taped cardboard box with a rug placed over top.

Investigators later found blood from both girls inside the box along with urine and feces.

The three-year-old was put in a taped box with a carpet on top to discipline her. (Court exhibit)

Taylor said she hopes the women receive lengthy sentences. Despite her efforts, she hasn't been able to see the girls again. She thinks about them often.

"I just want them to know that I didn't abandon them and I didn't forget about them," Taylor said. "I want to be able to see them and just tell them, no matter what, I love you and I'm here for you if you ever need anything."

People on social media have been calling Taylor a hero. Those comments have helped to lift her out of the sadness and depression she felt after the incident, she said.

"If I did save their lives. I'm very proud of that because those two girls did not deserve to be taken out of the world," said Taylor.

"They're so young and bright and full of love and light and they are going to go on to live a better life than what happened before, and they're going to grow up to be such strong women from what they've overcome at such a young age."