Fourteen siblings, including a baby, have been rescued from a “house of horrors” as their parents stand accused of abusing, torturing and locking up their children.
The children were removed from a suburban Sydney home after the two eldest girls, who are in their late teens, secretly recorded the alleged abuse and emailed their school demanding a child check. ‘welfare.
The children, boys and girls ranging in age from several months to 19 years, were allegedly fed “animal-grade” meat, whipped, beaten and prevented from leaving the house.
Police say the siblings were not allowed to go to school and were denied access to phones, books and social media.
They also claim that the children were fighting over rations of toilet paper and that their “skinny bodies” were hidden by dirty, ill-fitting clothes.
Fourteen children – boys and girls aged between seven months and 19 years – from their Sydney home after the two eldest girls recorded their parents’ alleged abuse.
Only the two eldest were reportedly allowed out of the house to attend prayers, while the youngest only ventured to the park at the end of their street.
Their parents are accused of a series of offenses and are not allowed to see their children.
The 18-year-old said her parents locked her out because she became too curious and asked too many questions.
“We were not allowed to speak without permission. No friends, no Internet access. No clothes, no work, no life, no studies,” she told Today’s telegraph.
Older girls were entrusted with children to care for every day as well as daily household chores and religious studies.
Their mother, who converted to Islam as an adult, would then report the children’s “bad” behavior to her husband when she returned home.
Based on the mother’s report, the father would then punish the “naughty” children by hitting them.
One of the girls claimed that her father bought her a pet cat only to torture it in front of her as punishment.
“It’s something that really touched me. I loved cats, so he would beat them, then make me parade dead cats,” she said.
Another sister claimed she was emotionally abused by her parents and always sought their approval.
She explained that one day, while she was cooking and cooking all day for 10 men who came to the house, her father was angry about the dust on the cupboard.
The teenager said she tried her best to make her father happy so she could “stop the bad things”.
The children were allegedly fed “animal-grade” meat, whipped, beaten and prevented from leaving the house. They were also reportedly prevented from going to school and having access to phones, books and social media, with only the two oldest allowed to leave the house to pray.
Both men took action after seeing their younger brother suffer mentally, fearing the alleged abuse could cause irreversible mental health damage or lead to suicide.
Using their iPads in secret, the sisters collected information from the Internet about child abuse, assault and what was legally acceptable for a parent.
They also took photos of the alleged abuse, particularly of their younger siblings who were allegedly whipped.
When one of the children was allegedly assaulted, one of the older sisters emailed the school asking for welfare support.
The older sister said she was scared but had “a good feeling” when she saw police entering her home.
She remembers comforting her younger sister after she started crying when police handcuffed and took their mother away.
One of the girls said making a statement to police was the “best part” because it gave her the freedom to tell the truth in a safe environment.
“Giving a statement to the police was probably the best part of it all…I know it sounds strange to say that giving statements to the police was like a fun thing. But it was,” she said.
The top police officer said the priority was to speak out to get as much information from each child and get them to safety.
One of the police officers who was first on the scene and who is still in contact with the family was tasked with letting the children know that their parents would not be coming home.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb (pictured) said she was proud of the dedication and compassion of the first two responding officers and their continued care of the family.
The officers had to teach the children how to do basic errands, including running errands and even teaching money lessons.
Detectives worked hard to keep the family together, with older siblings insisting on looking after the younger ones.
“This is such an unusual case that there are definitely some bumps along the way,” the senior officer said.
“The girls know what they have taken on is a huge responsibility, but they were up for the challenge if it meant keeping their family together.”
A few months after their rescue, the children were all enrolled in an appropriate school and had all the materials necessary for their education.
The older girls take care of their 12 other siblings, do the household errands, take their brothers and sisters to school and to all their medical appointments.
Police said both men had taken responsibility for their parents and would like to see a possible “respite” for them so they too could have “lives of their own”.
“We would love to see them get some respite, perhaps a nanny to help them while they study and focus on their own goals and dreams,” the officers said.
“But they are not complaining, they are extraordinary young women and we would do anything to support them.”
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said she was proud of the dedication and compassion of the two first responding officers and their continued care of the family.
The children’s mother and father are in court.
