How Could You? Hall of Shame-Australia-Foster Dad

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Australia, “a man who allegedly forced foster children to eat frozen vomit, stand with their noses against a wall for hours and repeatedly go to school in pyjamas has been refused a Working with Children Check clearance.

The horrific ongoing abuse was put before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which on Wednesday said the man, now a medical practitioner, poses a risk to children.

In its written judgment the tribunal found the now 45-year-old man “behaved in a manner which was abusive of the children’s rights and caused physical and psychological harm”.

Between 2007 and 2010 the man and his partner had five children placed in their care, before their authorisation as foster carers was cancelled in 2012.

The children, aged between nine and 14, made numerous similar allegations of ill-treatment and physical abuse by the couple.

On one occasion a boy alleges he was made to drink large bottles of undiluted cordial until he vomited, as punishment for being in the kitchen without permission.

He was then forced to eat some of the vomit, which was also frozen and served to the other children on their meals.

A girl said she was forcibly held down in an empty bath while the couple inserted a funnel into a mouth and poured down “slop” containing fish pieces, leftover food, wasabi and chilli flakes.

Three children complained the couple made them stay up late to finish homework and sprayed them in the face with icy water to keep them awake.

They were also allegedly made to stand with their noses against the wall for hours on end as part of a “time-out process”.

The children were regularly made to wear their pyjamas to school on the bus, “resulting in them being teased and ridiculed”, the judgment said.

One child was allegedly locked outside in the backyard at night.

Police were called after neighbours reported her screaming.

“While it is clear that a number of the allegations are far-fetched and simply not credible, a number of the events described clearly occurred and reflect an underlying rigidity and unsympathetic attitude towards vulnerable children,” the judgment said.

The tribunal noted that while a Reportable Conduct Unit investigation found 15 allegations against the man were sustained, neither he nor his partner have been charged with any criminal offences arising from the investigation.

It found the man does pose a risk to the safety of children and should not have a Working with Children Check clearance.

Even if the man does not pose a risk to the safety of children, a reasonable person would not allow their children to have direct, unsupervised contact with him while he was engaged in child-related work, the judgment said.”

Tribunal rules foster dad can’t work with children after revelations of horrific abuse

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