Two months before his death, a seven-year-old boy allegedly abused by his mother's boyfriend was reduced to begging for water from shocked witnesses, a Sydney court has heard.
The "deplorable, prolonged" abuse of the boy, who was found dead on May 21 this year, was witnessed by shocked campers during an Easter holiday at an Illawarra campsite in March, facts tendered to Parramatta Local Court on Friday said.
A 29-year-old man, who can't be named for legal reasons, is facing 25 charges including assault, child neglect, taking action resulting in injury or sex abuse and producing child-abuse material.
After the boy was found dead, family members told police he had fallen off his pogo stick.
But an autopsy showed he had suffered three fractured ribs, an associated bruise in the shape of a fist, feet injuries and multiple bruises to his legs, back, buttocks that were inconsistent with normal childhood injury.
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"The deceased would have been in immense pain from the (rib) injury," police statement the facts said.
The documents show the boy's mother moved in with the man six days after she met him in January this year.
The boy and his two younger siblings had been previously well cared-for, but police allege their care diminished greatly after moving into the man's studio, which was windowless and had no toilet facilities.
During the camping trip, several campers allegedly witnessed the boy being abused.
He was seen sitting outside his tent one morning in cold weather, sobbing and wearing just a singlet and a towel around his waist, the facts said.
When one camper called out, "How can you leave a little kid sitting there for that long?" the man allegedly responded by saying to the boy, "Next time remember to tell us you need to go to the toilet and you might not wet yourself".
Later, the boy approached a camper in the amenities block and gestured to be lifted up towards the tap.
Once placed under the tap, the boy "drank and drank" the camper later told police.
"I was surprised to see a kid his size drink so much.
"When I put him down he just smiled at me and ran out of the toilets.
"I assumed he wasn't being given any food or drink by his parents, which concerned me a lot."
Police allege the abuse suffered by the boy at the hands of the man "forced him to seek the assistance of a stranger to fulfill this basic need of life".
Campers also allegedly witnessed the boy being beaten with a tree branch and forced to run laps until he fell face-down on the ground.
One camper took a photo of the little boy showing a lump between his eyes and another on his forehead.
The campers later contacted Wollongong police, who started an investigation.
But two months later, the boy was dead.
The court heard homicide detectives were still investigating the boy's death.
Defence barrister Paul Lewis said the man would be fighting the abuse charges.
"Once the rules of evidence are applied to the full facts, it's our submission the case is anything but strong," he said.
Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan refused bail, noting the allegations against him were "very serious and disturbing".
The case returns to court on November 21.
