Floreat’s starving ballerina says she doesn’t view herself as victim as parents blame their OCD mental illness

WARNING: CONFRONTING IMAGES Floreat’s starving ballerina says she does not view herself as a victim and blames herself for her parents’ imprisonment. In a stunning development, the now 20-year-old at the centre of the case that shocked WA aired her views publicly for the first time in two letters read in part at a sentencing hearing for her mother and father at the District of WA on Thursday. The pair, whose identity is suppressed, were convicted of child neglect on two grounds — under-nourishing and infantilising the home-schooled girl — and immediately incarcerated after a four-and-a-half-week trial in November. She was about to turn 17 but weighed just 28.1kg when she was admitted to hospital in April 2021, forced by the Department of Communities. In the letters, she made it clear she did not accept that she was offended against, prosecutor Jehna Winter said. Instead, she blamed herself, saying her vegan diet was her own choice. She wrote that she was “responsible for the decisions that were made and her parents predicament was of her own making”, Ms Winter said. The young woman also blamed authorities and media for how the matter unfolded, saying people had read and believed “embarrassing distortions” about her. “I want my life back but know that can’t happen,” Ms Winter quoted directly from one letter. “This case will haunt me forever.” Judge Linda Black expressed sympathy, saying having personal details publicly revealed must be “awful”. But siding with her parents, she “may yet be too young and too immersed in the lives of her father and mother” to fully appreciate what had happened. The hearing was told that the couple had been assessed by the same psychologist and Judge Black said she had read his report several times. She said she had never seen a case like it. Both defence lawyers - Oliver Paxman representing the father and Michael Perrella acting for the mother - argued that their clients’ obsessive compulsive disorder was at the heart of their offending. They both submitted that the mental illness reduced their clients’ culpability. Mr Paxman said the family had led an insular lifestyle as a result of all three of them suffering OCD. The condition caused the father to suffer significant anxiety when anything interfered with their “structured and rigid” existence or questioned “this fantastic routine” the man believed he had. The girl’s dance teachers, child welfare authorities and medical professionals raised concerns about her welfare. But the father had “blinkered judgment” and failed to entertain different possibilities when confronted with them, Mr Paxman said. Mr Perrella said his client’s OCD was severe and long-standing, and had a direct impact on how she cared for her home-schooled daughter. “It is a symptom of OCD that one has rigid thoughts and lacks insight,” he said. “She could psychologically not accept that there was anything wrong with her perfect daughter.” Judge Black said the psychologist was very experienced and impressive but had spent “limited time” with the woman and relied heavily on her self-reporting her condition. The jury by its verdict had found her not credible, the judge said, noting there was also little to back up the father’s claim of an OCD diagnosis. Ms Winter said the psychologist did not draw any causal links between OCD and the offending. Judge Black will hand down her sentence on Friday and said she was disinclined to place much weight on the fact there was an “absence of malice” on the part of the parents. “In domestic violence situations, perpetrators often love their partner and yet their acts ... hurt them,” she said. Judge Black said she viewed the parents’ recklessness to the risk of harming their child as being “at the top end”, with the very real possibility of her dying being the consequence. “It’s a risk that wasn’t realised only because the department took over,” Judge Black said. The father pleaded guilty to forgery before the trial started, having altered his daughter’s birth certificate so her dance teachers thought she was two years younger. The mother, who wept uncontrollably in the dock when the jury handed down its unanimous verdict after about four hours of deliberations, had recently self-harmed in prison, Mr Perrella said. Lifeline 13 11 14 Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 If you need help or support for an eating disorder or body image issue, please call Butterfly’s National Helpline on 1800 334 673 or email support@butterfly.org.au