Nine-year-old girl left in extreme squalor despite at least two reports to the Department of Child Protection

A young girl was left living in a house which was partly flooded and in a state of “sickening” squalor despite multiple reports to the Department of Child Protection. The Premier has responded.

A nine-year-old girl living in squalor and surrounded by animal faeces, rotten food and a flooded house was twice allowed to return to the care of her grandfather despite police officers labelling the conditions “sickening”.

The failure to remove the young girl emerged during unrelated court proceedings, in which two officers described attending the home, but said that on both occasions the child was allowed to continue living there.

Despite the now finalised court proceedings, harrowing evidence of the officers and released photos of the squalor, the Child Protection Department refused to explain why the girl had been left to suffer.

Photos taken by police at a home in a regional community in November 2019 where a young child was living in squalor

Photos taken by police at a home in a regional community in November 2019 where a young child was living in squalor

The girl’s grandfather moved into the Housing SA home, which has since been demolished, in June 2013.

When his granddaughter was only 12 months old, he became her sole carer after her mother relinquished her care.

A police spokeswoman said a child will be removed from harm “where the officer believes on reasonable grounds that the child has suffered, or is at risk of suffering, serious harm”.

On Friday morning, Premier Peter Malinauskas said the conditions did not provide the community with confidence.

“Those pictures in the paper aren’t particularly a source of confidence in terms of some of the state that those kids in the community are in,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.

“There are a group of highly dysfunctional environments with the most vulnerable people sometimes who have had generational complexity in their families, complexity passed on from one generation to the other and that contributes to the sort of images we’re seeing.”

He said early intervention to break the cycle was key to prevent vulnerable children living in complex environments.

Child Protection Deputy chief executive Fiona Ward said that while they could not comment on the specific case, the system was being “challenged” by the number of children requiring help.

Photos taken by police at a home in a regional community in November 2019 where a young child was living in squalor

Photos taken by police at a home in a regional community in November 2019 where a young child was living in squalor

“In South Australia, one in three children are reported to the Child Protection Department by the age of 18,” the spokeswoman said.

“Last year, about 39,000 individual children were reported to the department.

“The majority of families reported to child protection have multiple and complex needs with active domestic violence, unmanaged mental illness, current substance addiction and housing instability as key underlying factors driving children’s experience of abuse and neglect.”

The girl was the subject of a welfare check on January 27, 2019, when police were told she was home alone.

Two officers arrived at the house about 9.45am and were greeted at the front door by the girl.

“We had a conversation with her and she advised us that she was home alone and that her grandfather had left the address to go shopping,” the officer told the court.

“I then asked if I could see her bedroom and the front door was ajar and I could see the state of the house.

“The outside area where we were on the front porch wasn’t flooded.

“It was as soon as we stepped through that entrance into the dining room … those rooms were flooded as well as the hallway.

“There was what I’d call a puddle, so stepping into a puddle but the whole floor was that.”

Photos taken by police at a home in a regional community in November 2019 where a young child was living in squalor

The girl took the police through the house, past a kitchen covered in “dirt, mould and grime” and was happy to show them where she was sleeping.

“I recall animal faeces on the ground and I’ve seen her bed in the corner which had very limited linen,” the police officer said.

The girl’s grandfather arrived home, furious that police had come to his home.

“He was mainly concerned about us being in the house,” the officer said.

“He was more concerned about us being in the address while he wasn’t there.

“We advised (the grandfather) about the living arrangement being in our word sickening and that she should not be left alone at the address at her age.”

Photos taken by police at a home in a regional community.

A report was made to the Child Abuse Report Line that day.

On July 7, 2019, police were again called to the property for a welfare check.

Police knocked on the doors and window of the property for 10 minutes about 1.45am until the grandfather opened the door.

“Yes, it was 1.40am, but his level of aggressiveness was something that would usually warrant me to think about use of tactical options in a public setting,” one of the officers said.

“That wasn’t our purpose, we were there to check the welfare of the occupants and make sure everyone was all right, so we were trying to be as diplomatic as possible.”

The grandfather had a warrant for breaching bail and officers decided to take him into custody.

“The assessment of the frontyard and property, it became clear that it was a lot more than just a standard welfare check,” he said.

“When we entered the property it was in a state of disgrace.

“There was faeces everywhere. There was a very hot ammonia smell that burns your nose as you walk in.

“Not just animal faeces – it was like a hot urine smell, it was quite bad, as well as the domestic rubbish.”

Photos taken by police at a home in a regional community.

The girl was asleep on couch cushions in the living room, a dog curled up at her feet.

“(The grandfather) walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her,” the officer said.

“He said ‘Wake up, wake up, the dogs are here, the mutts are going to put me inside’.”

The officer said the whole house was damp, the bedding the girl was sleeping on looked soiled and the kitchen was covered in decaying food.

The girl was taken to the police station along with her grandfather but was sent back with him to the house.

Another complaint was raised with the Child Protection Department.

Twenty days later, the girl was removed from the home. Photos tendered to the court from a third police visit in November that year show the house was still in a state of squalor.