Department of Child Safety notified about two malnourished Brisbane teens found locked in house, neighbours say

 This story contains distressing images and vision.

These are the photos that must be shown.

Two teenage boys with autism in a squalid room wearing nappies that sag to their knees.

Excrement is smeared on the walls.

A blow-up mattress is the only furnishing.

They were taken two years ago by a concerned neighbour, who along with others in the suburban Brisbane street, reported their concerns to the Department of Child Safety and police.

But the teenagers, aged 17 and 19, remained at the home until yesterday when police found them inside malnourished and naked.

Police were called to the property where they found the body of the boys’ father in the front yard.

The 49-year-old man’s death is not being treated as suspicious.

A woman who lived nearby said the squalid conditions of the boys’ bedroom can be seen from her kitchen window and for years she had tried to help them.

“Oh, [it is] extremely difficult to see it, hear it, know it all the time and not being able to do anything about it and to try and get things done about it,” she said.

“But just not being heard by people who could change it.”

In October 2018, she took photos.

“Because I knew I needed evidence,” she said.

“I knew I couldn’t just say they were living like that — with poo and urine, I knew it needed to be filmed.”

Going on for years

Another neighbour, who did not want to be identified, said she called the Department of Child Safety in February of this year but was told there was nothing they could do.

She reported concerns about the boys being locked outside with no protection in the harsh summer heat.

The woman said her family had observed “disgusting” mistreatment of the boys over the past 18 months.

“He would lock them outside in nothing but a nappy; they had no clothes on, from what I could see no sunscreen, they had no hats and they had no water,” she said.

“I rang [the department] because to me, I couldn’t believe how hot it was, that you would leave a child outside. The only shade they had was this small landing, which was probably a metre by a metre.

“[The department] basically said because they technically have shade, and they technically are in an enclosed yard, there’s nothing that they can do, which doesn’t sit well with me being a mum.

“They didn’t even ask me for the address.

“They should send someone around even if it’s just to check in. It’s appalling.”

The neighbour said she “basically explained everything that I had seen” to the child safety officer.

“This man used to speak to these children like they were the scum on his shoes. He would tell them to ‘shut the f*** up’.

“For a punishment, he would shut them out and lock the front door and one time I saw him throw the kids outside … and then he let the dog inside. It was just disgusting.”

The neighbour said she was shocked to learn the boys were teenagers because she had always believed they were primary school age from their size.

“Just last week I saw one of the boys get off the bus and his arm was probably two of my fingers thick,” she said.

“I was just mortified because I’ve never seen him that skinny before.”

The teenage boys are now in the Prince Charles Hospital.

The Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women said it could not confirm what it knew of the situation.

“The Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women is guided by the Child Protection Act which has as its paramount principle the protection of children — which includes their identity.

“The strict provisions of this Act make it illegal to disclose publicly whether an individual or family is known or not known to the department.”