A Winnipeg woman has pleaded guilty to running an illegal bawdy house in Wolseley.
The 48-year-old woman pleaded guilty in court Wednesday.
The woman, who can't be identified in order to protect the identity of her two children, ran a brothel out of her family home until police raided it in June 2009.
Inside, officers found a room with sex toys and bondage ropes and chains, along with business records for "sessions" or "visits" listed as code for sex acts.
The Crown argued in court that the woman's main motive was money and that she preyed on the vulnerable, using her 17-year-old son to recruit.
He volunteered at Teen Talk, a help line for youth. That's where he befriended a young couple who eventually began working in the brothel.
When interviewed by police, the son admitted he knew his mom was a pimp.
Prosecutors said the 13-year-old daughter was inside the home at least once when a john was there.
The young girl was also told that when an alarm sign was posted in the window, not to enter the house as her mother was supposedly doing a tarot card reading.
The 48-year-old woman's lawyer insists his client ran the brothel as a safe haven, a place where she and others could work, worry free. The woman is now retired but still believes bawdy houses should be legalized, saying "I did what I did. I'm not ashamed of it. But I will take responsibility for it."
The defence is asking for probation, while the Crown is asking for a condition sentence.
The judge has reserved sentencing.
In exchange for the guilty plea, other prostitution-related charges against the woman and her husband were dropped.
- with a report from CTV's Stacey Ashley
