A woman from eastern France has admitted delivering her 5-year-old daughter to be sexually abused by a 38-year-old paedophile she met on an internet forum.

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A woman from eastern France has admitted delivering her 5-year-old daughter to be sexually abused by a 38-year-old paedophile she met on an internet forum.

The incident came to light at the weekend after the woman, from Nancy, took her daughter to the doctor. The girl, who was bleeding profusely, was admitted to hospital in the city. Doctors said the injuries were the worst they had seen on a child of that age, according to local paper le Républicain Lorrain.

The mother initially told police that the girl's injuries were caused when she fell during a zoo visit on Friday. When told that the girl's injuries did not match this story, the mother changed her account, saying that her daughter had been raped at a motorway rest stop. 

After further questioning the mother admitted that she had delivered her daughter to a man she had met in an online chartroom. She confessed having numerous explicit chats with him, after which she agreed to deliver her daughter to the man's home in Talange, near Metz. The girl was delivered to her alleged attacker in the early afternoon and was collected by her mother at 11pm.

The paper said investigators have not yet established the mother's reasons for agreeing to deliver her daughter.

A 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of abusing the girl and has been questioned by police.