A dozen filthy, neglected children, some with deformities or disabilities due to generations of inbreeding, have been found on a rural Australian settlement in an incest case that has shocked the nation.
The 12 children, aged between five and 15, were removed by social workers who responded in July 2012 to complaints that they were failing to attend school and when they did show, were thin, dirty and suffering a lack of even basic hygiene.
When police and child protection workers visited the farm compound where they were living with some 30 adults -- multiple generations of the same family -- they found what legal documents described as "very dirty and hazardous" conditions.
Over four generations uncles and aunts and brothers and sisters had sex with each other, raising younger generations that also went on to create further inbred offspring together.
Genetic testing revealed that 11 of the 12 children had parents that were related -- five "closely related" -- and they had a range of disabilities including deafness and blindness.
They displayed varying degrees of sexualised behaviour towards one another and strangers, and had disturbing stories of sexual acts in the commune involving children.
All the evidence pointed "inescapably to inter-generational incestuous relationships and intra-familial sexual abuse," a Children's Court judgment in the case, published for the first time this week, revealed.
The group lived a squalid existence, in two caravans, two sheds and two tents without running water or sewerage.
"Observations of the children were that they appeared to be dirty, wore dirty clothing and were shy and unable to make eye contact," the court said.
"Their speech was difficult to understand, and they appeared to have very poor dental health and hygiene. There were no toilets, showers or baths. The children had to go into the bush to go to the toilet. They hand washed in a tub of water."
A young kangaroo was sleeping in one of the children's beds, while exposed electricity wires, chainsaws and large bags of rubbish littered the property.
A number of the girls didn't know how to use a toilet or what toilet paper was and had never seen a toothbrush before.
Some of the children had no formal schooling, others only sporadic, and the court documents said they were either developmentally delayed or cognitively impaired, with seven of the group "unable to speak intelligibly".
Another of the children had died when she was two months old due to a genetic condition.
Due to the seriousness of the case the Children's Court took the unusual step this week of publishing its ruling -- originally made in September -- saying "there is no realistic possibility of restoration of any of the children" to their parents.
They were ordered to remain in state care until they are 18 years old.
Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved.
A firefighter hoses to control flames near houses at Bilpin, 75 kilometers (47 miles) west of Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
Lyndon Dunlop stands by his father as they inspect the damage to his grandparent's home of 41 years destroyed by bushfire on October 21, 2013 in Winmalee, Australia. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
Smoke and ash from wildfires burning across the state of New South Wales blankets a cruise ship in Sydney Harbour on October 17, 2013. (GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images)
A firefighter hoses to control flames near houses at Bilpin, 75 kilometers (47 miles) west of Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
Residents evacuate with some belongings following a nearby bushfire in Springwood in the Blue Mountains on October 23, 2013. (SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)
A helicopter drops water to douse bushfires along the Linksview Road near Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains on October 23, 2013. (SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Firefighters get ready to handle the situation following a bushfire near Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains on October 23, 2013. (SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Firefighters mop up and check for reflash after a firestorm swept through a property in Bilpin, 75 kilometers (47 miles) from Sydney, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. Scores of Australians evacuated their homes in mountains west of Sydney on Wednesday as intensifying winds fanned wildfires and grounded the helicopters that were fighting them. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
A burnig tree falls during a mop-up by firefighters after a firestorm swept through a property in Bilpin, 75 kilometers (47 miles) from Sydney, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
In this photo provided by the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, smoke rises from a wildfire near Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. Winds that were fanning wildfires and showering embers on threatened communities eased late Wednesday, after scores of Australians evacuated their homes in mountains west of Sydney. (AP Photo/NSW Rural Fire Service)
Firefighters control flames during hazard reduction in Bilpin 75 kilometers (46 miles) from Sydney in Australia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
Firefighters mop up after a firestorm swept through a property in Bilpin, 75 kilometers (47 miles) from Sydney, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
Firefighters control flames during hazard reduction in Bilpin 75 kilometers (46 miles) from Sydney in Australia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
In this photo provided by the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, smoke rises from a fire near Lithgow, west of Sydney, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. (AP Photo/New South Wales Rural Fire Service)
In this photo provided by the New South Wales Rural Fire Service the remains of a structure are in a crumpled pile after a wildfire destroyed the building, at an unknown location in Australia, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. (AP Photo/New South Wales Rural Fire Service,)
In this photo provided by the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, smoke rises from a fire near Springwood, west of Sydney, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. (AP Photo/New South Wales Rural Fire Service)
A general view of play during the Ryobi Cup cricket match between the South Australian Redbacks and the Western Australia Warriors at Drummoyne Oval on October 17, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
A general view of play as the skyline is shrouded in smoke during the Ryobi Cup match between the South Australian Redbacks and the Western Australia Warriors at Drummoyne Oval on October 17, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Smoke and ash from wildfires burning across the state of New South Wales blankets Sydney Harbour in this photo taken from the Sydney Opera House on October 17, 2013. (GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images)
A general view of play during the Ryobi Cup cricket match between the South Australian Redbacks and the Western Australia Warriors at Drummoyne Oval on October 17, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Prime Minister Tony Abbott attends a bushfire briefing with federal member for Macquarie Louise Markus, RFS incident controller David Jones and RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons on October 18, 2013 in Winmalee, Australia. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
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