A Mackay woman has been jailed for three and a half years over what has been described as the "appalling" treatment of her stepdaughter over a 19-month period.
The District Court in Mackay heard the 28-year-old's offences began in April 2016, when the girl was eight, and continued until December 2017.
Crown Prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher told the court harrowing details about the victim's living conditions.
"She was underfed and in poor health when removed [by child safety]," Ms Gallgher said.
"It was a disgusting way to treat a child.
"She was a young girl and she was treated maliciously."
Ms Gallagher highlighted the deliberate targeting of the woman's stepdaughter, who was sent to school in dirty pyjamas, sometimes without food.
Surrounded by filth
While the young girl was forced to sleep on a mattress on a concrete floor that was covered in dog and duck faeces, the woman's three biological children all had furnished bedrooms with toys and books.
In one instance the stepdaughter was held up against a metal pole and choked by her stepmother.
The court heard the girl was also hit with a wooden spoon on the head, which caused bleeding and bruising and prompted police to intervene.
Although the woman pleaded guilty, she initially denied having ever assaulted or strangled the girl and told police it was the child's fault she went to school without lunches and in dirty clothes.
The court heard how the woman had been a victim of domestic violence throughout her life, inlcuding by her stepdaughter's father, who was away from the home frequently due to work commitments.
She was often the only caregiver in the house.
The defence told the court the woman grew up in an isolated religious group that fused Seventh Day Adventist and Amish beliefs.
The defence said she had experienced physical and sexual abuse from her own father during her upbringing.
Chief Judge Brian Devereaux described the woman's crimes as "disgraceful and abhorrent" as he imposed a prison sentence of three and a half years.
The woman will be eligible for parole in August 2021.
