Monster starved girls, made them sleep on balcony for months

A domestic monster who terrorised and ruined the lives of three young girls in his care has faced court.

The man faced Brisbane’s District Court.

A domestic monster who terrorised and ruined the lives of three young girls who suffered abuse, severely restricted eating regimes and months sleeping outside has avoided any more actual custody causing a furious mother to storm out of court.

The man, who cannot be identified in order to protect the victims’ identities, pleaded guilty to two counts of cruelty to a child under 16 in relation to two of the girls after torture charges were dropped.

Crown prosecutor Cameron Wilkins said the man’s heinous offending against the girls began after he met their mother at a course and invited her to move in with him.

“It is an abhorrent, persistent and targeted offending against these two young girls that has had a significant impact upon their life as a child and into adulthood,” he said.

Mr Wilkins said the man subjected the two girls - aged 10 to 14 and 11 to 15 at the time - to “prolonged cruelty” over about four years.

“He placed the children on a strict eating regime and made them keep a food journal,” he said.

“All meals were prepared and weighed and measured.

“He locked the pantry doors to prevent the children from obtaining food when they were hungry.”

Brisbane’s District Court heard that for breakfast he allowed them to eat 10 to 15 grams of uncooked oats mixed with water. If the children misbehaved their food would be withheld from them or reduced.

He forced one girl to sleep on the balcony for weeks at a time without a pillow or blanket. On other occasions he forced her to stand on the balcony after school in winter until she went to bed, the court heard. She was allowed back into the house to shower but only with cold water before being sent back outside.

“She used her school uniform to try and keep her warm, which, in turn, was then taken off of her,” Mr Wilkins said.

The man isolated the other girl from the rest of the family and would punish her if siblings spoke to her. He forced her to sleep outside on the tiles in the rain with no pillow or blanket for about two to three months, the court heard.

Mr Wilkins said the man prevented her from showering leading to itchiness and scratching. The man held her down and took photos of the scratches on her skin saying she would end up in a “psych ward “ and have her arms strung up.

The court heard that girl had gone on to self-harm and had suffered poor mental health as well as respiratory issues.

The other girl, who dropped 20kg in a quick period, developed an eating disorder.

A psychiatrist opined the man’s “extreme control, denigration, deprivation, social isolation inevitably disrupted their psychological development, placing them at high risk of PTSD.”

A victim impact statement by the girls’ mother said the man’s actions “destroyed their life in ways that no one would truly understand.”

“He has taken their childhood and made it horrible,” the statement said.

Friday’s hearing was complicated by the man’s sentencing last year for the sexual abuse of one of the girls and the digital rape of a third sibling. For that he received a five year jail term suspended after 759 days which he had served in presentence custody.

Barrister Emily Lewsey outlined her client’s poor health that had resulted in open heart surgery.

Ms Lewsey said this was a relevant sentencing factor as prison would be more harsh.

The court heard the man, who had no prior criminal history, had been in the community for several years and had not breached bail or his suspended sentence in that time.

“It’s accepted this is a serious matter but one which does not require any further time to be spent in custody,” she said.

Judge Michael Burnett said the man’s offending had a “profound impact” on the victims who would require ongoing specialist support.

“There was a significant disparity of power between you and your victims,” he said.

The man was sentenced to two years jail wholly suspended for an operational period of five years.

On learning the man would not spend more time in custody the visibly angry mother left the court room.