A mother who ‘spent all her money on cigarettes’ and neglected her children so much that they were forced to search for food on the floor has escaped jail.
The 43-year-old woman appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court this week on multiple charges, including eight counts of child neglect and one count of failing to provide proper care for an animal in relation to her pet dog.
Magistrate Jane Campbell dismissed 11 charges on mental health grounds, but the woman pleaded guilty to failing to provide a dog with food, water and a clean environment and was given a 12-month good behaviour bond.
Authorities were alerted in 2022 when a plumber visited the housing commission property where the four children, ages two to eight, lived and found “approximately two years of accumulated filth.” Canberra weather reported.
According to police documents, the worker, who was traumatised by the state of the house, slipped on a ‘slime’ that covered parts of the floor and was unable to enter some rooms because they were blocked by piles of dirt.
Two dogs were found in the house that apparently had no food or water.
Interviews with the children by authorities revealed that they were not adequately fed, although the eight-year-old boy occasionally attempted to cook for the other children despite the kitchen being swarming with cockroaches, spiders and mice.
The children said they were “often hungry” and ate “candy and anything else they found on the ground.” One child said they had previously had dogs as pets, but they had died because they were not fed.
The woman appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on a number of charges, including eight counts of child neglect.
The woman’s defence lawyer said the children were not harmed, but the judge disagreed, saying she believed there was trauma (file image)
A report determined the home needed an estimated $113,000 worth of repairs and the family was moved to a hotel.
But police said the hotel room quickly fell into a similar state.
Officers observed “feces on every towel, rotten food in the refrigerator and only one toothbrush between five people.”
More faeces were found on the walls of the lounge area and margarine was found spilled on the beds.
The police prosecutor told the court that the woman’s “inability to maintain a clean environment has been a very long-standing problem”.
He said workers were required to wear personal protective equipment to visit the home and a psychologist noticed on a visit a few months ago that the woman appeared not to have washed or brushed her teeth in weeks.
The woman’s defense attorney said his client has since been receiving medical treatment for multiple mental illnesses that were a significant factor in her behavior and that she “simply couldn’t cope” with four active children.
She argued the children were unharmed, but Judge Campbell disagreed, saying the home was unsafe and she expected “ongoing psychological trauma” from the neglect they experienced.
The children are no longer in the woman’s custody and she is required to continue mental health treatment.
He was also banned from owning pets for three years.