Judge blasts Floreat parents found guilty of starving, infantilising ballerina daughter after epic trial

WARNING: CONFRONTING IMAGES. A mother found guilty of starving her ballerina daughter has copped an extraordinary spray from the trial judge for further traumatising the victim by calling her as a defence witness. The Floreat woman wept uncontrollably in the dock after it took a jury a little over four hours to convict her and her husband of two counts each of child neglect, after a sensational four-and-a-half week District Court trial. In a dramatic twist last week, the daughter, now a 20-year-old teacher, was metres outside the courtroom when she pulled out of testifying — after her name had already been read out to the jury. The mother then unsuccessfully applied to abort the proceedings, arguing she could not receive a fair trial, despite the jury being instructed not to speculate on why her daughter did not take the stand. What they were not told was that she had suffered a panic attack. And after the unanimous guilty verdicts were handed down on Wednesday, Judge Linda Black lashed the mother for calling her only child to testify in her defence. Judge Black said she had “never ever come across a case” where a person accused of abusing a child had sought the help of the same child in court, putting them through further trauma. “And then to have the audacity to apply to vacate the trial on the basis that her daughter had a panic attack and couldn’t bring herself to walk into court,” Judge Black said. “This is a very difficult thing to say without sounding cruel, but I cannot accept that (the mother) at all times has the best interest of her daughter in mind.” To the contrary, Judge Black said she considered there was a real risk of further harm to the child were her mother to get bail and return home, where the daughter moved back after a year in State care. While the husband stood when the verdicts were delivered, the mother did not, weeping and rocking back and forth. He did not move to comfort her and she retched several times. “On the evidence … I consider there is a real risk that (the daughter) will potentially be further hurt by having her mother there, particularly having regard to the emotional condition of her mother,” Judge Black said, remanding the pair in custody. When their daughter was about to turn 17 in April 2021, she was admitted to Perth Children’s Hospital weighing just 28.1kg and placed under the protection of the Department of Communities the following day. It was the average weight for a nine-year-old, while her height was that of an average 11-year-old. Her body mass index was 13.1, compared to a healthy range of 18.5-24.9. Her growth had been stunted, puberty had been delayed, and she had a condition known as lanugo - a soft, feathery hair covering that can develop in people with eating disorders to help keep them warm. However, the teen did not have an eating, psychiatric or cognitive disorder, and there was no evidence that her solid schedule of dance classes was the cause. One only needed eyes to see there was something seriously wrong with the girl, prosecutor Jehna Winter argued - and the jury agreed. “It would have been apparent to anyone looking at her that something was seriously wrong,” Ms Winter said in her opening address. The formal diagnosis was the girl had suffered “inadequate diet and nutritional neglect”, potentially for years. But the father laughed in disbelief when told his daughter was at risk of cardiac arrest, and the couple challenged some of her medical treatment in hospital, including a nasogastric tube to feed her. The parents — who, along with their daughter, cannot be identified for legal reasons — testified that their daughter became a vegan at age 12 and was well-fed with three meals a day, all the snacks she wanted and supplements. They claimed they didn’t see why others were worried about the emaciated teen and just viewed her as beautiful, insisting she had always been small and that trait ran in both of their families. Michael Perrella, representing the mother, said that to his client: “This was her beautiful ballerina girl.” And the father’s lawyer, Oliver Paxman, pointed to a comment the man made on social media beneath a photo of the teen looking painfully thin: “What a beautiful photo of my ballerina princess”. Two dance teachers who alerted authorities to the tiny girl’s plight, Tania Shillington and Michelle Doepel, testified that they had expressed concern to the parents, which went unheeded. They got a special shout-out from Judge Black, who said neither to had an obligation to do anything. Were it not for them raising the alarm, the significant harm already inflicted on the girl may well have resulted in her death, Judge Black said. The judge gave a rare insight into her view of the couple’s conduct at trial ahead of sentencing, saying the two whistle-blowers were “attacked” by the couple. The pair also took aim at PCH child protection unit social worker Denise McNab, effectively accusing her of assaulting the mother and daughter by grabbing them roughly when she tried to end a visit. Their interference in the girl’s treatment and continued infantilisation of her during her 50-day hospital stay was a major part of the trial, with the court told her mother even followed her to the toilet. They also encouraged her to watch TV shows aimed at much younger children including Teletubbies and Play School, and tried to arranged a Disney princess to visit for her birthday on the ward. Ms Winter attempted to explain the couple’s bizarre hold on their daughter, saying they kept her physically small - and inhibited her maturing - “so they would always be needed”, having found a new purpose in parenting after unhappy childhoods. Not teaching her independence skills left her “vulnerable to exploitation and abuse” as an adult, the prosecutor said. Ms Winter described the case as “highly unusual”, saying the couple clearly loved their daughter. But their conduct “resulted in their little girl simply never growing up”, making her “a character in one of the films she loved ... Peter Pan”. “They never wanted that to change,” Ms Winter said. The dad pleaded guilty to uttering a forged record at the start of the trial, admitting he altered his daughter’s birth certificate so she appeared two years younger than she was. Judge Black said the penalty for that charge alone was often an immediate term of imprisonment. Mr Perrella sought a “thorough” psychological assessment of the mother ahead of a sentencing hearing for both on January 30. Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800