Bravehearts criminologist Carol Ronken says the life sentences handed to a Gladstone couple for child sex offences ‘fits’ their horrific crimes

A criminologist has spoken out about a Gladstone child sex abuse case labelled the ‘most depraved’ Queensland has ever seen, and the lasting effects it will have on its victims.

Bravehearts criminologist Carol Ronken says the life sentences handed to a Gladstone couple for child sex offences “fits” their horrific crimes.

Ms Ronken, who is also director of research for Bravehearts, Australia’s leading child protection organisation working holistically to prevent child sexual assault and exploitation, has spoken about her reaction to the case that shocked Central Queensland this month.

“This is such a horrific case,” Ms Ronken said.

“The sexual abuse of children is one of, if not the, most incomprehensive and horrific crime.

“For the majority, we cannot understand how anyone, most especially a parent, would subject their child to such trauma. “

A Gladstone mother was this month jailed for life after offering up her four-year-old daughter to be repeatedly raped by a man.

The woman, 40, who had no prior criminal history, and the man, 36, who was already sexually abusing his sons and niece, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court at Rockhampton to more than 250 charges for 234 crimes.

Of the counts, 207 involved the woman’s daughter carried out over a 16-month period.

The case was described by Crown prosecutor Joshua Phillips as “the most depraved sex abuse the Queensland community has ever known”.

Mr Phillips said the facts of the pair’s offending filled 40 A4 pages with a 23-page executive summary and a USB of the videos which have been placed in an envelope never to be opened unless by court order.

The sick, vile, grotesque, horrendous, violent child sex acts were read out to the court by Justice Graeme Crow, who described the case as “monumental” and “horrendous” during sentencing, with even the most senior and experienced legal industry professionals displaying signs of distress at the contents.

The depraved acts on the child - including how she cried out for help while being raped - were detailed in court but were too graphic to publish.

The facts included five children aged four to 12 being restrained and raped.

The male offender, who had minor drug offending on his history from 2010 and 2016, was also given a life in prison sentence.

The court heard the woman also had an adult son who was born with a life-long affliction - he was placed in department care due to his mother’s inability to care for him.

Bravehearts criminologist Carol Ronken.

Ms Ronken said Bravehearts “absolutely commends the courts” for providing a sentence that “fits” the horrific nature of these crimes.

“While a methamphetamine addiction was proffered as one of the causes of the offending behaviours, there is absolutely no excuse that can absolve the responsibility and guilt of the perpetration and facilitation of these offences,” she said.

Ms Ronken said the trauma inflicted on these vulnerable children was indefensible.

“Every child has the right to be safe and protected.

“Childhood trauma, and trauma so horrific, will have lifelong consequences for these children.

“Long-term impacts of child sexual abuse can include ongoing mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, personality disorders and psychotic disorders; self-harming; physical health issues; problems in developing and sustaining healthy relationships; and links to drug and alcohol misuse.

“It is absolutely critical that every step to ensure their healing is supported, to minimise the long-term impacts of the horrendous abuse they have endured.”

Ms Ronken said it was hard for many to believe that women sexually offended, but they did.

“While official statistics show that about 2 per cent of sexual offences reported to police were committed by females, victimisation surveys showed the actual figure to be around 12 per cent,” she said.

“Not having access to any details or assessments of this case, it is impossible to comment on whether the motivations for the mother in this case were sexual, but she facilitated the sexual abuse of her child, and we are so pleased to see the courts acknowledge the seriousness of her actions and the trauma she has caused her child.”

‘The impacts on victims are long-lasting’: Youth services worker

Gena Hitzke manages the youth and family services program for Roseberry Queensland, a community-based organisation providing a range of services to meet the identified needs of young people and families who are experiencing difficulty.

Ms Hitzke said the impacts on victims of child sex abuse were “long-lasting”.

She explained that Roseberry’s programs were very focused on disengaged youth and often underpinning that disengagement were “ACEs” - adverse childhood experiences.

“Which can be from trauma, from sexual abuse or domestic violence,” Ms Hitzke said.

“A high level of the young people we work with that are becoming teens, have got a level of either sexual abuse trauma, or domestic violence trauma, underpinning why they are disengaged.”

Member for Flynn Ken O’Dowd and Roseberry Queensland youth and family services manager Gena Hitzke at a funding announcement for family services in Gladstone. File photo.

Ms Hitzke said often young people who had experienced those things carried a lot of guilt, shame and self-blame.

“So they have a really low self-esteem.

“Sexual assault in early childhood is correlated with high levels of anxiety and depression, and lots of disassociative behaviours, and they (victims) can have eating disorders, body issues and relationship issues.

“Often alcohol and drug abuse is a big coping strategy that they’ve put in place to manage some of those experiences, because they haven’t been able to verbalise what’s actually happened to them.

“And all of that underpins the social problems that we have - they (victims) have difficulty engaging at school, anti-social behaviours, disengagement from education and employment, and housing issues.”

How the system ‘failed’ state’s worst ever child sex abuse victims

There is an important question that nobody in power will answer following a Gladstone child sex abuse case that was described as “the most depraved sex abuse the Queensland community has ever known”.

When asked last week if this couple was known to Queensland’s Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs, the Minister for that portfolio Leanne Linard said it was illegal to disclose publicly whether an individual or family was known to the department.

Queensland Minister for Children and Youth Justice Leanne Linard speaks during Question Time at Parliament House. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Dan Peled.

“In carrying out its work, the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs is guided by the Child Protection Act, which has as its paramount principle the protection of children - this includes their identity,” Ms Linard said.

“The strict provisions of this Act make it illegal to disclose publicly whether an individual or family is known or not known to the department.

“What I can say is that my heart goes out to this young girl as no child deserves to be treated this way.”

Shadow Minister for Child Protection Amanda Camm said the Queensland Government not being able to disclose the information requested was a “sad reality” of legislation and something that she would be looking into.

Shadow Minister for Child Protection Amanda Camm. Picture: Heidi Petith.

“This is the reality, sadly, of the system,” Ms Camm said, before going on to say there were clear failings in the Child Protection Act and the Opposition would be developing policy to address these shortcomings.

“Some of the Act is what is challenging, even to hold the government and the department to account.

“The Act itself is what, almost excludes, what is the public interest standard that should be upheld.

“So the questions that are often asked can never be answered because of the legislation.

“And that in itself is not doing a service, not just to the children who have already been subjected to horrific crimes, but it doesn’t do a service to protecting children in the future.

“The only way in which that can be addressed is through a change in legislation and right now, certainly the legislation is very tight.

“There are clear failings in the Child Protection Act and the Opposition will be developing policy to address these shortcomings.

“Children must be protected.”

Ms Camm said it was “the department’s responsibility and the Minister’s accountability” to ensure that all children in Queensland were protected.

“And in particular those most vulnerable (children), who are within the care of parents or family members that are incapable of caring for them, to ensure there is intervention and protection of those children,” Ms Camm said.

“And in this case, that clearly did not occur.

“It is extremely concerning that a child was subjected to abuse for that length of time without any intervention, or any protective measures, or any reporting, that would have seen her be taken out of that very dangerous situation that now has had, I’m sure, what are the most traumatic impacts in her life that she has to live with and overcome.

“It’s horrific.

“It’s horrific to think that a child was subjected to that type of abuse.”

When Minister Linard was further asked if any, or all, of the victims in this case were now in departmental care, she again referred to the Child Protection Act and said: “The strict provisions of this Act make it illegal to disclose publicly whether an individual or family is known or not known to the department.”

‘Our child protection system failed’: MP calls for review after shocking case

Queensland’s Shadow Minister for Police and Corrective Services Dale Last says there have been too many failures with the State’s child protection system.

Speaking after the sentencing in the Supreme Court at Rockhampton in October, 2021, Mr Last labelled the perpetrators “animals” and called for a full review of the case.

“The animals that committed these crimes should never be released from prison,” Mr Last said.

Shadow Police Minister Dale Last. Picture: Matt Taylor.

“The victims of these sickening acts will live with the consequences for life, and it is only fair that the perpetrators do too.

“The fact that this abuse took place over such a long period shows that our child protection system failed.

“That sort of failure should have already triggered a full review of this child’s case and, if it hasn’t, the Minister needs to explain why.”

When Minister Linard was asked if there would be a review of this case, she did not answer the question and instead said: “I am glad to see that justice was done and the perpetrators were brought to account for their actions as no child deserves to be treated this way.”

Mr Last said if the department was aware of the case and these atrocities continued, then the department had failed.

“If this type of offending against a child went unnoticed then you have to ask how that happened and implement whatever is necessary to prevent that happening again,” he said.

“Frankly, there have been too many failures when it comes to protecting our children and, in recent years, it takes a coroner’s review or intense media involvement for change to happen.”

Mr Last said these vile attacks on children needed to stop and the relevant Ministers, along with senior departmental staff, needed to be continually working to identify where improvements could be made.

“What I would say to the community is that if they have any suspicions that children are being mistreated, they need to report those suspicions to police.

“I am sure everyone would prefer to see suspicions proven wrong than to see another child become a victim of these animals.”