http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ed-children-rescued-house-horrors-Cairns.htmlMalnourished children have been rescued from 'squalid and wretched' conditions at a hoarder house they lived at with their dad.
The children were found riddled with worms and headlice when they were discovered at a home, which has been described by police as a 'house of horrors'.
Three children, two boys and a girl aged five, seven and 10, lived among piles of rubbish, cockroaches, flies and maggots before they were rescued from the home in February last year.
There were also syringes found scattered throughout the home, even under the bed all three children shared.
Cairns Police said it was among the worst child neglect cases they had ever seen.
Despite this, the 36-year-old father escaped a jail sentence when he appeared in court on Wednesday.
The man pleaded guilty to a string of offences including cruelty to a child under the age of 16, animal negligence and keeping a protected animal.
He was handed a two and a half year probation order, the Cairns Post reported.
The man, initially blamed the malnourished state of his family on their 'picky eating'.
This was discredited when his eldest son revealed the truth to police officers investigating the case.
Crown Prosecutor Nicole Friedewald told the court the boy admitted he and his siblings were lucky to eat one meal a day.
'The conditions of the house can only be described as squalid and wretched,' Ms Friedewald said.
The court also heard two dangerously malnourished Staffordshire Bull Terriers were rescued from the home. A wallaby was also discovered to be living inside the house.
Defence Barrister Josh Trevino told the court his client did not intentionally harm his children.
He said the father-of-three suffered from undiagnosed chronic depression.
Mr Trevino said his client was working to restore his relationship with the children, and had since been awarded unsupervised visitation rights.
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