‘Authorities turned a blind eyeto my torturous childhood’

A young plumber who has worked hard to get his life on track has taken the NSW government to court for ignoring 50 reports of harm from teachers and neighbours when he was a child. READ his story.

The man and his partner are working towards buying their first home.

A man has sued the NSW government, claiming he turned to crime because the authorities ignored more than 50 reports of harm when he was a child.

Even after authorities removed him and his three siblings from his mother and her abusive partner, he said he suffered further abuse in some of his 16 foster care homes.

This included having peppercorns placed on his tongue for swearing, “one for each year”, along with emotional abuse.

The matter was settled out of court in a mediation.

While the man, now 24, said he was happy with the outcome, the mental scars from his childhood remained.

The man, 24, with his partner and five-year-old daughter.

The man, whom The Sunday Telegraph has chosen not to identify, said neighbours, teachers, Aboriginal liaison officers and “an old lady across the road” made reports to authorities about concerns for his welfare.

He said the reports occurred over an eight-year period and included one about his mother being found unconscious on the road after being bashed. At the time, he said his younger brother was four weeks old.

Another report came from concerned teachers who were feeding him breakfast, he said.

Now a father himself, the arrival of his now five-year-old daughter made his experiences as a child resonate even more, he said.

“I was nine years, just about to turn 10 when I was finally removed,” he said.

“There were so many reports about us. There were four of us. My older brother and my two younger half-brothers.”

But, even after being removed, he said he and his brothers faced further abuse within the foster system.

The man with his partner and baby daughter.

The man has now turned his life around.

“Some of them psychologically abused us,” he said.

“We had peppercorns on our tongue if we swore. We also had to eat home brand cereal while the other (biological kids) ate normal cereal. That was our life. As I went through the system, things just got worse and worse.”

He said his traumatic time with his mother and the instability and experiences in foster care led him to crime.

Expelled from all three schools in his northern NSW town, the man was sent to a suspension centre where he would be caught stealing from teachers’ handbags.

At 13 he was sent to juvenile detention and would end up there another three times before 18.

It was while in detention when the man met Bernie Shakeshaft — founder of youth organisation BackTrack — whom he credits for turning his life around.

Shakeshaft supported him in his decision to take legal action against the government for failing in its duty of care.

“I love (Bernie),” he said. “Every time I mucked up, Bernie was there. He told me: ‘I’m here for the long run’. That’s what stuck with me. I felt I had someone looking out for me. He said: ‘I’ll be here until we get it right’. He never gave up on me.”

The man spent almost 10 years with BackTrack, where he completed a commercial plumbing apprenticeship before working on the new Grafton Correctional Centre.

He has since taken up a job with a multinational plumbing firm in Queensland and is looking to buy his first home with his long-term partner.

He said his younger two half-brothers were also turning their lives around. However, his older brother was in prison.

As for his relationship with his mum — who is no longer with her partner — the man said it was strained, although the pair made an effort to speak at least once a month.

A Communities and Justice Department spokesman said it was unable to ­comment on “individual matters”.

Click for more information on BackTrack.

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