Five malnourished children were so hungry they wolfed down dog food when offered it by a woman who had been starving them, a court has been told.
The five siblings, who lived in Adelaide with six adults and 16 other children, were mistreated and deprived of food until they were so thin their bones could be seen, a trial of three men heard on Wednesday.
The three men have each pleaded not guilty to aggravated acts endangering life, criminal neglect and aggravated acts creating risk of serious harm against the five children, who were aged between four and seven at the time.
Mr Nitschke told the jury that the children's mother had pleaded guilty to the abuse and would testify that she and the others had deprived her children of food and forced them to stand in line all day with their hands on their heads.
This happened "from the time they got up until they went to bed at night", Mr Nitschke said.
The line-up began as a one-off punishment but it turned into a daily practice under the enforcement of the alleged ringleader, a mother of 12 who was in a relationship with the father of the five children.
Mr Nitschke said that when the desperate children broke out of line to snatch at food, the scraps were taken out of their mouths.
"By force, if necessary. They were often grabbed by the throat and choked," he said.
He said one witness would testify to seeing the ringleader hand each of the five a plate of dog food, telling them to eat it if they were hungry.
"He will tell you that each of them wolfed down the dog food," the prosecutor said.
Mr Nitschke said that when the five-year-old collapsed, some of the adults tried to cover up their neglect by force-feeding him.
"A gruel of soggy mashed Weet-Bix was made up and put into a syringe," he said.
Investigating officers said the children were "looking like children from a famine-affected Third World country", he said.
"Some of the children's feet had swollen up, it was difficult for them to stand."
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