Cruel parents starve 20-year-old daughter to keep her 'a little girl' forever, force her to wear kids' clothes

An Australian couple was found guilty of child abuse after keeping their daughter on a strict diet to maintain her childlike appearance.

A 20-year-old woman's parents have been found guilty of child abuse-related charges after they put her on a strict diet for years to keep her thin and small so she could be their "little girl forever."

Despite being well into her teens, the girl weighed only 27 kgs when she was hospitalised for being too gaunt. (WA District Court)

The Australian couple, who lived in a wealthy Perth suburb, were found guilty of failing to provide adequate nutrition to their child as even when she was 16, she weighed only 27 kgs.

The teen became so thin and emaciated that she had to be hospitalised and placed on a feeding tube. Her father even tried to change her date of birth on her birth certificate to make her appear younger than she was.

The parents made her look like a little girl by dressing her in preschool-aged clothing when she was 16. The couple was also found guilty of failing to provide emotional, social and functional development to her as the girl was homeschooled for most of her life and kept hidden from the world.

Her condition first came to light after her ballet teachers became concerned about how gaunt she had become.

'Never allowed to grow up'

The court was also informed that the teenager's interests were akin to those of a child much younger than her. She watched TV shows aimed at toddlers, sang along to Wiggles songs and needed help to use the toilet.

Her room was filled with soft toys, Disney princesses and TV shows for preschoolers like Thomas the Tank Engine and Dora the Explorer despite her being almost 17 years old.

She was also dependent on her parents for basic tasks like brushing her teeth, peeling a banana and her mother still brushed her hair and helped her dress.

Judge Linda Black rebuked her parents in a strongly worded statement while sentencing them to six years in prison.

"You put your own opinions ahead of what was best for your daughter. You have created a child who is not able to function as an independent adult at the age of more than 20 years old. She’s never been allowed to grow up," she said.

The parents' lawyers claimed that their actions were justified as the family suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Despite the charges against her parents, the girl reportedly sobbed when their sentences were announced. She also read a statement to the court before the sentencing saying that she didn't believe her parents had wronged her “in any way."