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Neighbors who lived next door to a house where three children were allegedly tortured told police they will never forgive themselves for ignoring their screams and tantrums.
Police were called to the property in south-east Brisbane at around 9:30pm on Saturday and found a five-year-old boy in critical condition, and his older siblings, a six-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy, in the garage with extensive non-life threatening injuries.
All three children were taken to Queensland Children’s Hospital for treatment, where they are now stable.
Daily Mail Australia understands that police will allege that neighbors heard screaming coming from the house where the children’s father, 29, was arrested.
He has since been charged with seven counts of assault resulting in bodily harm, three counts of torture, three counts of assault resulting in bodily harm while armed, and one count of felony bodily harm.
Previous court records reveal that the father of three is a refugee who immigrated to Australia more than a decade ago.
Detectives searched the two-story property, which sits at the end of a strip of apartments within a gated community, for four days after the father’s arrest.
Pictured: The Brisbane home where three boys were allegedly tortured by their father
The backyard was desolate except for a couple of battered chairs.
The brick house seemed eerily desolate, with no toys in the yard or other indications that it had ever been occupied by children, or by anyone.
The barren backyard is in stark contrast to the one next door, which is packed with trampolines, bikes, and children’s games.
The only signs of life were a padlock attached to the front screen door, a couple of battered chairs in the backyard, and a pile of empty plastic bins piled on the grass by the driveway.
Although the property appeared empty of possessions, the father’s car remains parked in a parking lot in front of the house. Through the window, a single child car seat positioned in the rear could be seen.
A neighbor, who did not provide her name, said the family had moved into the house six to four months ago.
She said she never saw the children playing outside, but heard them screaming “almost every night” and thought they must have refused to go to bed.
“The screaming was going on at all hours, sometimes late into the night. She was mostly the girl,” she told Daily Mail Australia, visibly devastated.
And now to think that they were [allegedly] being tortured.
“I will never forgive myself for thinking they were just playing.”
She also said that the loud music and lights in the house kept her awake constantly through her windows.
Neighbors told detectives they heard screaming coming from the house that sounded like the children were having tantrums.
A second neighbor, who lives behind the family’s home, also said she never saw the children playing in the backyard.
She also heard screaming, but was shocked and upset to learn of the allegations when detectives knocked on her door.
I’ve been very busy lately. You hear noises, but the children are screaming and crying. I just thought they were having a tantrum,” she said.
I feel terrible.
Other local residents said they saw two women run out of the front doors with their children around 2 a.m. Saturday, just 17 hours before the man’s arrest.
A padlock could be seen attached to the screen door on Wednesday, with a stack of plastic bins below the front window.
Another woman wiped away her tears, remembering that she had never seen anything unusual in the house.
She arrived home around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, shortly after the children were taken away, and heard a distraught woman crying in her driveway.
‘She was screaming ‘What have I done? How could I let this happen?’
“People were comforting her, then an ambulance showed up and took her away.”
The incident has shaken the community together, with residents devastated to learn that the children may have allegedly been abused right under their noses.
Neighbors said the incident has taught them that the community needs to be ‘more aware’ of what is going on around them.
Emergency services responded to the home on Saturday night after paramedics were called to report that a 5-year-old boy was injured.
The man, whose name cannot be identified for legal reasons, was arrested at the scene and taken into custody to appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.
A single child seat could be seen at the rear, along with some Centrelink documents tucked into the side of the door.
He has an extensive criminal record in Queensland, including a conviction for leaving a child unattended and giving false or misleading information to authorities.
The Department of the Interior revoked his refugee status in 2017 due to his run-ins with the law and sought his deportation.
However, the decision was later reversed and his visa reinstated, allowing him to remain in Australia.
In assessing the status of her visa, the Administrative Court of Appeals was asked to take into consideration the evidence that she cared for three children.
The submitted submissions argued that it was not in the “best interest of the children to be denied a parent who is capable and willing to provide loving support.”
His request for bail was rejected in court on Monday and the matter was adjourned until February 27.