Child protection authorities failed to act for more than a year as a brother and sister in Victoria allegedly suffered daily abuse from a stepfather whose cruelty extended to assaulting the boy's genitals with pliers.
Nine News can reveal Victoria's Department of Human Services was notified of the alleged abuse — which also included beatings with a cricket bat and steel capped boots — at least a dozen times, but failed to act.
Horrified police believe it was only the persistence of teachers that saved the lives of a seven-year-old girl and eight-year-old boy — who cannot be identified for legal reasons — from their abusive stepfather.
Worried school staff first noticed their injuries in September last year. Despite contacting Human Services at least 12 times, they claim their concerns fell on deaf ears.
"It's as if we weren't being heard, as if no one would believe us," one teacher said, speaking anonymously.
As new injuries surfaced, the brother and sister became more withdrawn and their explanations less convincing.
"The things he would say like, 'I fell out of bed' or 'I fell down the stair' or 'I corked my leg' … All of these things as a mother and a teacher for many years, they just didn't add up," the teacher said.
It took more than a year for Human Services to remove the children from the family home.
When they were finally taken into care earlier this month, their bodies were covered in paint, apparently to hide their injuries.
Nine News understands that when doctors examined the girl they found 41 bruises and broken ribs; her brother had 30 bruises, a fractured femur, broken nose, scars on his head and a missing tooth.
Police say the boy also had two operations on his genitals, after his stepfather allegedly assaulted him using pliers.
"I was disgusted. My heart just went to these little children and how ever many other children in the state that it's happening to," the teacher said.
"To think that it has taken so long and what those children have suffered, when if [Human Services] had believed us earlier or had moved on this case earlier, none of these things or very few of these things would have happened to these children."
The Australian Childhood Foundation's Joe Tucci said that what Human Services regards as abuse was out of sync with community standards.
"I don't believe that they act early enough or strongly enough," Dr Tucci said. "I think there's an ideology that still prevails in child protection, which is to keep the family together no matter the cost to the kids.
"I think this is a situation where parents rights have taken precedence over children's rights."
Nine News today contacted DHS about this story. Nine News hopes to bring you their response tomorrow night.
ninemsn 3 Nov 2008
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