I am the father of a 10year old boy. I am currently moving around (on the run) with my son to avoid the court order to return him to the abusive and violent situation he has come from. I am so desperate for help, I have exhausted all legal avenues and I am in major debt with court and lawyer fees.
My son has been living with his mentally ill mother (a diagnosed Schizophrenic) and her sister and the sisters husband (who happens to be my brother) and their 5 children in a 3 bedroom home in Townsville. My sons mother was ordered not to have any children in her care, but my son and his mother, moved into the sister and sisters husbands home.
My sons mother, although not stable enough to care for one child is now left in charge of 6 of them whilst her sister works at night. They have domestic violence and drugs issues in their relationship, the police are frequent callers to the house due to these problems. The sister and her husband have had there own children removed from there care for a period of time due to the mistreatment, physical and mental abuse they inflict on them on a regular basis. The Juvenile Abuse Bureau are frequent visitors to these premises and have documentation of the abuse carried out in this home.
The sisters husband has an extensive criminal history with charges ranging from violent assaults to using his own children to steal. He has served prison time for some of these offences. He tried to commit suicide (approx 2003) in front of my son and the other children. I again have documents from the Family Welfare stating this claim.
My son has been forced by his mother to call my brother Daddy and they tell him that his real Dad is dead. If he fails to call him Dad he gets a belting for it. My son knows that I am trying my best to get him out of there, he has made comment that -he has been waiting for me to rescue him- He is often used as a punching bag. He stands only 126cm high and weighed only 20kg, when I got him 8 weeks ago, which is very small for his age.
They claim he is mentally retarded (ranking status number 6) and receive government grants for him. They send him to a drop off centre for handicapped kids for the day to be rid of him. This is of course is covered by the government. The sister and her husband have time and time again stated the money value of having a so called mentally retarded child in their care. They (sister and husband) got 100% property settlement (our marital home) from the divorce between my ex-wife and I, they are forever chasing me for their personal costs, for all court proceedings. They have also made a grab at my current wifes house in WA, which my wife had bought with her own money from a previous property sale before we met. They are all about what they can get for doing nothing. I feel like my son is just a cash maker for them.
Due to numerous phone calls made to my sons aunty through out the years, her main concern is if she will still get money for him if I take him away. So its obvious that his welfare isnt high on her list of priorities.
I have made so many attempts to get custody of him, but are constantly beaten up with delays and drained financially until I have to give-up and go back to work, and then try again, only to have this same treatment at every attempt. So now that I have him in my care, I am not returning him ever.
The stories my boy tells me and other people that have come into our lives, about what he lives like and what is going on in the Townsville house, chills me to the bone. They claim he is retarded but with the love and support from my wife and I, I can tell you this little boy is definitely not retarded. He is mentally undeveloped due to mistreatment and malnutrition. He is like an abused dog, kick it enough and it wont bark, it wont eat it just cowers in the corner, that is what he was like when I rescued him. They claimed he was deaf, but due to neglect, his ears were so blocked in with wax that he had to be submitted to hospital to have the wax surgically removed, he desperately needs glasses, has never had his eyes checked under their care, when he gets tired at the end of the day he starts mumbling things like; I just want something to eat please, dont hit me -I hate you you f***n a***holes- then cries, drops to the floor in a ball shaking and doing actions with his hands.
He freaks out and begs that I dont return him to his aunty or his mum in Qld, he starts to panic as night falls, as last time I rescued him, I went to child services for help and they gave the police my address, the police came into my home at night and ripped him out of his step mums arms to return him to the abuse. We had just started to get him talking and toilet trained and trying to make him feel safe when they did this, he was 4 at the time. Boy did he cop it when he returned to the so called carers; they blamed him for the hassles they had to go through and flogged the crap out of him. Its not just the adults doing the abusing in this environment its the other children as well, they all take it in turns of abusing him. My son was kept away from me for approx 2 years and in that time he had lost 4 kilos and was covered in boils and had nits. He was in a nappy and dressed like a hobo, he wasnt allowed to sit at the table with the rest of the family members, he sits on the floor to eat. He doesnt have his own bed; he jumps into bed if there is room with one of the other kids. My son tells anyone and everyone who will listen that he doesnt want to go back to his mum and gets all frantic at the thought of it.
I visited a friend and his wife who have a 5 year old boy. They took us in, she has rules and boundaries for her child, and my son had to comply to the same rules if we wanted to stay. My boy was thriving with them; she made him feel safe, chats to him, and lets him be a little boy. He has really enjoyed playing carefree with her son. Her child goes to school, so my son was at home through the day with her. He has told her things that even I didnt know; one night she was making home made pie for tea, and he was saying that he wasnt always allowed to eat when he lived in Qld, but he would sneak into the freezer and eat frozen pastry so his mother and aunty wouldnt notice otherwise he would starve. He asked her all day on the 2nd day we were there if we were having tea again tonight, she was dumb struck, -of course we are mate-; he told her again he wasnt always allowed to eat tea. She has been drawing and doing maths and writing with him and was amazed that he was so keen and so bright. He just wants to fit in and be in a loving home, where tea is served every night and he has a bed to sleep in, with out the fear of the police coming into take him away.
My wife and I know that he needs a lot of help to over come the fears and mental abuse that he has suffered, we are willing 100% to help him better his life. My wife does an amazing job with him, keeping him in line, getting a routine established for him and sticking to it. He loves her and loves the idea of living with us and being happy and safe, going to school and making friends. He fears going back to Qld, and gets real distraught when he thinks it might happen. He says frightening things like; -I am gonna kill them if I get taken back there- or even worse he says -I kill myself if I have to go back- or -I runaway and hide in gutters until you come and get me, dad-. He is bloody only 10 years old, he is terrified of going back, and he feels like he has the world on his shoulders. I dont want him to suffer like this anymore.
I am his dad and I will do what ever it takes to protect him.
As kids ourselves, my brother and I were always in lot of trouble, dad left, mum got sad and we run wild, my brother is older than me and I followed everything he did, that left me in lots of trouble with the law for many years, I do have a criminal record for stealing, but I am a changed man and have not been in trouble since I left there. I have got a federal police clearance and a security licence. My brother was and still is a lying, thieving low life who just runs by his own rules. He still does lead a criminal life; you just need to look at his record which he is still adding to. I tried to better myself, got a good job and I make a good living, I met a beautiful woman, got married set up home and have been desperately trying for years to get my son out of that life style my brother is providing him.
I dont want him to grow up angry at everyone, and in a criminal environment or being left behind because of the way he is being bought up, he and the other children in that house are heading down the wrong path fast, a life of crime is what they are taught and is how most of them will end up.
In the last 8 weeks, since I have had him he has come out of his shell, speaking better and clearer everyday, doing home schooling, he can add, sub-tract, his writing is improving everyday; he is loving getting a chance to do school work. All he wants is to go to school and make friends. Before I had to leave, after another failed attempt to keep him, he was assessed by the local school and put in grade 3. He was so excited and loving every minute of it, then the courts said -send him back to Qld and sort it out there- No way was I letting him go back, so we left.
I have no idea why he is not awarded to me, the freedom of information black out certain stuff so I can not understand why this is happening. We have sent a letter of complaint to the CEO, Federal Magistrates Court, regarding the judicial process of this case and to report the solicitor that is acting on their behalf. He is simply delaying and dragging out court proceedings and not putting the childs welfare first.
We have letters from a paediatrician stating that she is concerned for my sons well being and future if left in that environment, yet no one is doing anything to get him out of it.
I am at my wits end. I simply dont know what to do next; I cannot trust the system anymore. I am not returning him to Qld. I will not allow them to use and abuse my child anymore, this kid needs me and my wife, he needs to be given the chance to become a valued community member, he needs the chance to go to school and get an education, he needs the chance to enjoy a loving caring home life. He deserves all the good things in life, not to be on the run and scared of what might happen next.
Please help me, by getting this out in the public I hope something will be done for my sons sake. I know I am one of many child abuse cases in this screwed up system, but I am lost. What should I do next ?

Any help would be appreciated, my child and I need someone to help sort this mess out, but under no circumstances will I allow him to be returned to Qld.