A court has dismissed charges against a mother who neglected her children in a home of "extreme squalor", with one child telling police they were so hungry they ate "floor food".
The 43-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday for what was described as "shocking" neglect.
She was accused of neglecting her four children, aged between eight and two, who lived amongst faeces and grime, while going hungry and being forced to consume "candies and whatever else they found on the floor".
On Tuesday, magistrate Jane Campbell dismissed 11 charges - including eight counts of child neglect and one count of failing to provide appropriate care for an animal - on mental health grounds.
However, the woman was handed a 12-month good behaviour order after pleading guilty to failing to provide a dog with food, water and a clean environment.
The mother, who is no longer a carer for the children, was also ordered to surrender her current dog and handed a three-year ban on caring for animals after being found "unable to look after any living being".
Home in 'disturbing state'
Police documents state the eight-year-old child sometimes cooked for the other children in the north Canberra home, but they were "often hungry" and would eat "floor food".
The children described a kitchen full of spiders they would have to "squash" as well as mice, bugs and cockroaches everywhere.
One child stated they had pet dogs "but they mostly died" as their mother didn't feed them, "because she spent all her money on 'smokes'".
The "house of squalor" came to the attention of authorities in January 2022 after a plumber visited the government home to fix a water leak.
Police documents describe how a maintenance worker slipped on "slime" that coated the floor, and how some rooms were filled with piles of mess so high he could not access them.
"[The man] still feels traumatised from seeing the house in such a disturbing state, and what he would describe as a couple of years' worth of accumulation of filth," the documents say.
On the premises, authorities found two scared dogs with no food or water.
A report detailed an estimated $113,000 worth of repairs required at the property.
The family were moved to a hotel, but shortly afterwards police saw "faeces on every towel, rotten food in the fridge, and only one toothbrush between five people".
In the hotel rooms officers also observed, among other things, "faeces on the walls in the living area" and "margarine smeared all over the beds".
'Horrific state of affairs'
On Tuesday, prosecutor Sofia Janackovic said the mother's "inability to maintain a clean environment has been a very long-standing issue".
Ms Janackovic told the court a psychiatrist had described the 43-year-old in May as appearing not to have "washed or groomed for several weeks" and hadn't brushed her teeth.
The prosecutor argued the children lived in "quite extreme squalor", and the home was in "such a horrific state of affairs ... [authorities] had to wear PPE and double masks".
Defence lawyer Darryl Perkins told the court his client had multiple long-standing mental illnesses which were both "debilitating and difficult".
He argued that at the time she "just couldn't cope" and there "wasn't a capacity there to deal with four very active, healthy kids".
Mr Perkins said the mother was now receiving medical help for her mental illnesses.
The magistrate rejected Mr Perkins' argument that the children "didn't suffer any damage", instead finding they "have suffered significant trauma" from living in a home which was "completely unsafe".
"It is a matter that I expect the children will have ongoing psychological trauma from that experience," Ms Campbell said.
"Her conduct is more caused, and in line and consistent with, her mental health and her significant decline of her mental health at the time of offending."
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Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
