EXCLUSIVE
An Australian-born mother and her migrant husband who allegedly beat and tortured their fourteen children in a squalid “house of horrors” presented themselves as “the perfect family.”
But NSW Police allege the couple subjected their children, from their teenage years to a six-month-old baby, to unspeakable abuse.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal police allege much of the abuse took place in a “dirty and filthy” two-storey brick house on an otherwise friendly street in suburban Sydney.
The house – reportedly damaged by the mother – now lies abandoned and uninhabitable in a suburb that cannot be named for legal reasons.
Both parents have recently been charged with a total of 60 offences, relating to a wide range of allegations, including that some children were punched and hit.
The children were not allowed to go to school and were sometimes given pet-quality food.
The charges the parents face include aggravated assault, sexual assault of a child under 16; taking and holding to gain advantage for sexual, psychological and physical abuse; and intentionally sexually touching a child under the age of 10.
The mother, 44, is also accused of vandalizing and damaging the home where the children were allegedly abused, knowingly concealing alleged child abuse and failing to inform police.
Neighbors broke their silence last night about what they knew of the family from outside their now abandoned and uninhabitable home.
The Sydney home where fourteen children were locked up, rarely allowed out except to go to mosque, and allegedly beaten and abused by their parents
The house where the family lived for up to five years is now abandoned and ‘uninhabitable’ with leaking sewer pipes, damaged doors and a ‘filthy’ interior. Above is an old real estate photo
What neighbors know about Sydney’s ‘house of horrors’
Daily Mail Australia can reveal the 56-year-old father is a migrant who fled his Arabic-speaking homeland after refusing to serve in the country’s military – a crime punishable by death at the time.
After serving time in a detention centre, he became a permanent resident and married an Australian woman of Anglo background, who converted to Islam.
They are said to have held the family in “appalling conditions” at the Sydney home.
The mother was heard shouting at the children from inside the house and was rarely seen outside the chained gate unless wearing an Islamic niqab.
A neighbor said the father repaired washing machines and other white goods “to help pay the bills” and was defensive about his children not going to school.
He was said to be traumatized by his past, but “laughed and was helpful” to the neighbors and “always walked out into the street to offer help.”
But one resident said: ‘I knew there were thirteen or fourteen children in there, but we never saw or heard them.’
The house – which has heavily reinforced windows – lived in fourteen children who rarely went outside, did not go to school and were reportedly starved and beaten.
A rusty shed in the courtyard of the ‘house of horrors’, which stands in an otherwise friendly suburb of Sydney
Another neighbor says: ‘The windows were always covered and we only saw the children inside when they waved from the balcony.
“Except for the boys who went out with (the father) and the older girls who went to pray with (the father) and chased them down the street.
‘They had chickens, a sheep and rabbits, which escaped into our garden, and the father always apologized to us.
“He was very strict, but said he (believed he was) creating a perfect place for all the children.
‘He was very friendly and brought sweets and presents on (Islamic) holidays.
‘When the house became uninhabitable, it took him a long time to find something suitable for so many children.’
The now abandoned Sydney house (above) is set to be demolished after being occupied by 14 children for years and allegedly abused by their parents, aged 56 and 44
The 14 children were kept inside the home, seen once or twice waving from an upstairs window (upstairs), but were reportedly attacked or abused inside, police say.
While the children were kept mostly indoors, they had rabbits, chickens and even a sheep, in what the father described as a utopia for raising a family.
The parents are alleged to have committed offenses against their children in six different locations between 2010 and 2022, although police say most of the charges against them stem from incidents in the ‘house of horrors’.
A real estate agent involved with the property claimed that the family was eventually evicted, but while they lived there the father gave the impression that he was “the perfect father of the perfect family.”
“We never saw the children and we rarely saw the woman, and she was always heavily covered… her face,” he said.
The property specialist said the home had suffered up to $200,000 in damage and was “ready to be demolished and rebuilt.”
The parents have been charged with 60 alleged crimes, including child sexual abuse and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, but neighbors remember the father as friendly and helpful
Another neighbor described the father as “a beautiful man” who always left things on your doorstep. If he got something for free, he would give it to you.”
Police removed the children from their parents after the two oldest girls, now in their late teens, began secretly recording video evidence of the alleged abuse and emailed authorities.
The accused parents are currently in court.
Prosecutors have indicated that some of the charges against them will be dropped.
The case will return to court at a later date.