'Unheard and uncared for': Children in state care exploited by adults

Inside Queensland’s trap houses where vulnerable children are allegedly drugged and sexually abused Thu 23 Jul 2026 at 5:28am Zoey* has been missing for days, but there are plenty of adults who know exactly where she is. The 14-year-old left residential care and is sleeping on mattresses on the floor of "trap houses", strung out on drugs with other kids. Warning: This story contains discussion of suicide and descriptions of abuse. The ABC has spoken with experts, advocates and residential care workers as part of a 19-month investigation into the sexual exploitation of children in state care. It's an issue that Queensland's child commissioner Luke Twyford says would "shock" Australians, if they truly knew how "endemic" the problem is. Zoey's shy smile flashes on the nightly news. Police say they hold serious concerns for her welfare. She and other children watch on as adults share needles during drunken parties. Dirty sheets cover the windows, holes are punched into graffiti-covered walls, and syringes are strewn across the floor. Zoey says she stayed at several of these party houses over the years. "They got us hooked on drugs, so we'd keep coming back," Zoey said. "We'd be off our faces — bad things would happen during those parties." A trap house is slang for a home where illegal drugs are used and sold. Experts say vulnerable children are being lured to these environments and preyed upon under the guise of parties. At the time, her guardian was the Queensland government. She had been staying in residential — or resi — care, where young people live with other children in houses supervised by workers. But she felt "unsafe, unheard and uncared for" in those homes, so she left. "The state was my parent, but it didn't act like one," she said. Hearing from those with experience of the system is rare. Now aged 18, Zoey says she contacted the ABC to expose what she sees as systemic failures. "In every suburb, there's at least one trap house, it's kind of hiding in plain sight. "That's what I want people to know." Into the system as a baby Zoey has experienced more trauma in her young life than most adults ever will. She knows Queensland's child protection system well. She bounced around it all her life. During that time, she had 26 placements, including 14 residential care homes and seven different foster care families. Zoey had her first contact with the child safety system at four-weeks-old. There was violence at home and some adults in her life struggled with substance abuse and mental health concerns. At the age of three, she was removed from her parents again when drug utensils were found in her nappy bag. But instead of finding a stable home, she was placed in foster care where she was later "emotionally harmed". A departmental letter, seen by the ABC, says Zoey was removed from one home at the age of 11 as the carers didn't meet the department's standards and there was "substantiated harm". "It was reported that [Zoey's foster mother] was yelling, swearing, name calling and using physical discipline," the letter says. "It has been determined that [Zoey] has been emotionally harmed … in care." Zoey also alleges that she was sexually abused by her foster father in that house, who is now deceased. By age 12, Zoey had entered resicare. Soon after her first placement, she had her first suicide attempt. She was in and out of hospital for several years, battling an eating disorder and poor mental health. For a child who yearned for connection and stability, she says residential care was a cold and uncaring environment. The department found there was "substantiated harm" to Zoey in two of those resi homes. "Residential care is the most unsafe and inappropriate model of home care," Zoey said. By age 14, Zoey and another child she met in care were sleeping rough; left to find refuge in laundromats, elevators, underground car parks, bus stops, shops and cemeteries. Then, she says she was offered what appeared like a lifeline, a place to stay with adults her friend already knew. It was a trap house. She says she was handed a kitchen knife by a young woman and told it would stop her from getting raped. A report Zoey received from the department when she aged out of care acknowledged that she was "spending time with unsafe adults" while she was away from placements. It said she was engaging in at-risk behaviour "including alcohol and substance misuse" and had reported "experiencing harm, including physical assault, threats to harm and sexual abuse". Sexual advances at trap houses The ABC has seen a series of disturbing messages sent to Zoey by adult men who she claims had links with the trap houses. In one message, a man, who Zoey alleges had sexually abused her, offers a place to stay and promises not to touch her. In another message, a different man makes a sexual advance towards her, and she shuts him down. Zoey says she remembers waking up in random places and not knowing how she got there, including in one trap house where she passed out after taking heavy drugs. She alleges an older man attempted to convince her that he was her father while she was under the influence, and another woman made the children call her "mum". At a different house, she says she feared for her life when she was left alone with a man who was drug-affected. "He walked to my door and started dropping his pants. I made a run for it. I truly believe if I didn't leave, I would've been raped." Children in care at greater risk Advocates have long raised concerns that children who abscond from care are at a significant risk of exploitation. A 2015 report from Victoria's children's commissioner said the "scale and risk" of abuse by "external predators" to vulnerable children in residential care was "alarming". Principal Advisor on Child Sexual Exploitation at Integrated Family and Youth Service (IFYS), Conrad Townson, says trap houses are one tool perpetrators use to lure children into exploitation. "We've seen … young people invited to parties, coerced into sex with multiple individuals," Mr Townson said. "In Queensland … young people have been … offered lifts home by these adults, and then trafficked as far north as Rockhampton, as far south as… Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour." Young people in residential care are vulnerable, and this is exactly what perpetrators look to exploit, Mr Townson said. "They may have a [family] history of domestic violence … of alcohol and drug use. A whole range of things can create those vulnerabilities," he said. Genevieve Sinclair has worked in the youth sector for almost two decades. Based in Queensland's tropical far north, she says the Cairns region is facing an unprecedented increase in child sexual exploitation. "It's at levels we haven't seen before," Ms Sinclair, the CEO of Youth Empowered Towards Independence, said. As part of Operation Kalahari, 13 people in Cairns were charged with 301 offences against children after 54 youths came forward with allegations of grooming and exploitation since 2022. But Ms Sinclair says there is "an immediate need for a national response". "Often resources are directed towards policing young people. But child sexual exploitation is driving some key factors of youth crime," she said. A Queensland Police Service (QPS) spokesperson urged anyone with information regarding sexual offending against a child to report the concerns to police and the Department of Child Safety. A spokesperson for the child safety department said they could not legally comment on individual cases but said "the safety and wellbeing of children and young people remains our highest priority". "All children and young people deserve to be safe, nurtured and cared for and we would urge anyone with information regarding sexual offending against a child to report their concerns," they said. Issue is 'endemic' Residential care is often considered a last resort, but in Queensland, thousands of kids are being placed in these homes. The Sunshine State has the highest number of children in resicare in Australia. As of February, 12,117 children are in the state government's care, with 2,388 of those kids placed in resicare. A 10-month commission of inquiry into child safety published 52 recommendations in June to transform the sector, including moving away from residential care. The state government is due to respond to the recommendations within the next month. But Queensland's child commissioner Luke Twyford says the sector is in urgent need of reform. He says it's "very clear" resicare "is not the best place for children … [and] that teenagers in our community are being exploited." "We are still operating houses that would not be safe or chosen by so many of us, including myself, to place our own children into," Mr Twyford added. As of last March, there were 780 children in out-of-home care who were self-placing, according to data from the Department of Child Safety. "I think all Australians would be shocked at how endemic this is," Mr Twyford said. "That there are houses in our suburbs where children are being preyed on, where people with ill intent engage these young people in drugs and alcohol." Speaking to police was 'traumatic' Zoey was a traumatised child trapped in survival mode. At trap houses, she alleges young people were encouraged to engage in criminal activity, including dropping off drugs and stealing cars. "I put a tough act on, but behind closed doors, things were completely different," she says. When Zoey finally recognised that she was a victim, she says she tried to report several of the houses to the police. But she says "with [one trap house], they believed me but needed a lot more people to make a case". Zoey says speaking to police was "traumatic" and that after that experience, she was reluctant to make further reports. A report by the department, seen by the ABC, says "ongoing attempts were made" to support Zoey "to make statements to police to hold these people accountable". "Police advice to Child Safety was that these matters could not be investigated due to [Zoey's] unwillingness to make a statement." But Zoey said: "Why would I speak to police again? Why would I add extra trauma to my situation?" A QPS spokesperson said it has dedicated child safety teams and its policies require officers to create a "child harm referral report… if they have serious concerns for a child's wellbeing." A spokesperson for the Department of Child Safety said: "There will always be a need for residential care for some young people… and all attempts are made to limit placement moves." They said that sometimes "a young person will refuse a placement offer and go to arrangements that are not approved". Children in care 'deserve to be safe' From police to schoolteachers and bus drivers, anyone who works for the state should be performing a parental role for kids like Zoey, Mr Twyford says. He says it's up to all our frontline workers to be attuned to what children in the state's care are doing and who's engaging with them. "When a child says that they didn't feel safe we all need to listen and lean in and understand why they are saying that," Mr Twyford said. "For too many children in our care system, we don't pay attention." Now that she's aged out of care, Zoey hopes serious action will be taken to break the cycle. "What I went through was not okay, and what other kids in the system are going through is not okay." "We deserve to be safe, and our concerns should be listened to." *Name has been changed