Adopted at the age of 9 from the Philippines by a couple from Perth. For about three months during winter she was regularly forced to sleep with no bedding in an unlit shipping container, which she described as “freezing”. She was locked in overnight and when the family went on outings, and learnt it was wise to go the toilet beforehand – but she had to do that outside. The girl was repeatedly assaulted with hands and objects including a rubber hose and a tennis racquet, and was verbally abused and threatened.

The couple was sentence to four years in prison.

7-year-old girl adopted by Jessica Jo Lindberg was abused by her adoptive mother. She was hit on the legs, arms, and the head with the wooden paddle. The girl was also locked up in the basement. Lindberg reportedly calls the girl a “stupid little bitch” on a regular basis and tells the girl she hates her and wishes she had never adopted her. Lindberg received probation.

Between 1990 and 2000, when she was aged between eight and 18 years-old, Jennifer Kelly was sexually abused by her adoptive father John Walker. In 2019 he was found guilty and sentenced to thee-and-a-half year in prison.

Twin boys adopted by Mark and Cheryl Layne were abused by their adoptive mother. This included beating with an archery arrow, a belt and their hand and making the boys eat out of the trash. Cheryl Layne was sentenced to six years' probation.

70 children were adopted by priest Nikolai Stremsky. For that he was decorated with a national Order of Parental Glory. Several of the children he adopted were raped by him.

Four children adopted from China by Cynthia Collier died as a result of their adoptive mother's murder-suicide.

One of four children adopted by Joseph and Samantha Ferguson was imprisoned, physically abused, and medically neglected by her adoptive parents. The girl was diagnosed with ADHD, yet Samantha Ferguson had taken her off her medication due to religious beliefs.

Girl adopted from China by Thomas and  Denise Atkocaitis was imprisoned in the basement. She was only allowed out for an hour a day to get food and use the bathroom. After pleading guilty to the charge of criminal restraint, Denise Atkocaitis did not serve jail time, while Thomas Atkocaitis served six months after pleading guilty to endangering the welfare of a child.

7-year-old girl adopted from China by Keith Luke Krause and his wife, Katie Rae Krause. The girl suffered a seizure at home and was taken to the hospital, where she was found to have fractures in the ring and middle finger on her left hand, rectal bleeding, abrasions, a pelvic fracture, and weighed just 28 pounds. The girl also had two different subdural hematomas. 

The girl told investigators that her punishments included doing jumping jacks for 15 minutes, running, or taking a cold bath or shower, and  said she would eat crumbs off the table because she was hungry and is sometimes punished for it. The girl recalled one specific incident where she had fallen down outside.  Her mother took her to the bathroom to wash the dirt off her arm and held her arm under hot water for 5 minutes. The girl said she told her mother the water was too hot and that “it was burning,” and skin came off.

The adoptive parents were charged with one count each of felony child neglect and were sentenced to two months in jail and probation.