A Queensland mother who cruelly left her two young sons alone in faecal-covered squalor will spend at least four months behind bars.
Brisbane's District Court heard on Tuesday that neighbours called police in May 2014 after they saw the woman's two-year-old standing naked on a window sill after 7am one morning and screaming as he banged against the glass.
The court heard the then-20-year-old single mother arrived home in a taxi before police could arrive - wearing a black dress and high heels, and with her hair and make-up done - and lied to the officers that the children had been supervised by family.
Prosecutor Caroline Marco said neighbours called police the next day after the dirty toddler was again seen screaming and naked at the window for hours.
Ms Marco said the four-year-old answered the door covered in faeces and wearing only a soiled nappy but was unable to open the security screen so officers forced their way in.
Inside they found bags of rotting garbage, urine-soaked mattresses with no bedding as well as food and faeces on the ground in the kitchen while the mother was asleep in bed, the court heard.
Ms Marco said the mother was hostile towards the officers but complied with their order to bath the children, who were then dressed in the least-soiled clothes available because there were no clean ones or shoes.
The court heard medical examinations revealed both children were suffering from chronic diarrhoea about four to five times a day, had disturbed eating behaviours including eating off the floor and were experiencing delays in their development.
Defence lawyer Catherine Cuthbert said the mother did not have a mental illness at the time of the offending but remained psychologically vulnerable and was now being treated for anxiety and depression.
Justice Tony Moynihan said leaving the children in unhygienic conditions when the mother was not deprived of the capacity to care for them was "cruel".
The now-22-year-old pleaded guilty to four charges of cruelty and negligence and broke down in tears as she was sentenced to 12 months' jail, of which she must serve at least four months before eligible for parole.
Both children are now safe in the care of their maternal grandmother and the Department of Child Protection is working towards reunification with the mother.
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