An 8-year-old girl was so desperate to escape her abuser; she deliberately broke her own arm to get away from him.
Jodie Moore’s story is one of six being told at a Royal Commission hearing into events at the Bethcar Children's Home, in Brewarrina, in remote northern NSW, more than 20 years ago.
The state-funded home was run by Burt and Edith Gordon, and their son-in-law Colin Gibson from 1969 to 1989
The Gordons were held up as model citizens - even receiving an award from then NSW Youth and Community Affairs Minister, Rex Jackson, as so-called "child-care parents of the year" in 1980.
But the evidence heard at the Royal Commission tells a different story. The Commission heard harrowing details of the horrors faced by children at the Bethcar home.
Burt Gordon abused children, Edith beat them when they complained.
The Gordons' son-in-law, Colin Gibson, was also an abuser. He was jailed in 2006 for repeatedly raping three girls including Jodie Moore.
"I was so scared of Colin Gibson coming into my room and sexually abusing me. I remember deliberately breaking my arm when I was eight year old so that I could get a break from the sexual abuse," she said.
Other children who went to police and NSW welfare officers with allegations of abuse were returned to the home where they were beaten, the commission heard
"I felt like nowhere was safe, even if there were other people present,” said Kathleen Biles, who was abused from the age of five.
“It felt like, as time went by, that Burt (Gordon) got bolder. It's like he knew that even if we said anything, we would not be believed,” she said.
The commission was told the state of NSW resisted accepting liability for any abuse and disputed for four years that it had occurred - even after Mr Gibson was jailed.
"It felt like I was back to being a little child, being called a liar when I told anyone what was happening to me."
When 13 former residents came forward in 2008 to sue the state, the Crown Solicitor's office employed solicitor Evangelos Manollaras to handle the case.
Counsel assisting the commission, David Lloyd, said Mr Manollaras doubted the abuse had happened and at one stage wrote "... I'm having some difficulty in having understanding how a jury convicted Gibson".
Mr Lloyd also said that when the plaintiffs requested an acknowledgment and a modest amount of money Mr Mallollaras expressed the view that "firstly I don't ever recall the state apologising for anything, secondly as to the sexual assaults, I have a very strong doubt that anything occurred at all in most cases".
In one email Mr Manollaras raised the "possibility of undertaking some surveillance" on at least some of the plaintiffs and suggested an initial compensation budget of $20,000-$30,000.
The case was settled at the beginning of 2014, with each plaintiff getting $107,142 with the state to pay legal costs.
The state had spent almost $1 million defending it.
Ms Biles said the legal process made her feel like she was being mistreated all over again.
"It made me angry and emotional. It felt like they were looking at me like I was a liar. It felt like I was back to being a little child, being called a liar when I told (anyone) about the sexual abuse that was happening to me."
The hearing continues.
