A leading legal expert has called for the introduction of “corporate manslaughter” legislation after allegations staff at the Department of Child Safety failed to act to protect a young girl despite warning signs she may have been in danger.
Dr Kathy Reeves, a senior lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland’s School of Law and Justice, said Elizabeth Struhs’ death raised “significant concerns” about the system’s response to her vulnerability and the red flags along the way.
“There may have been missed opportunities for earlier, more thorough oversight and intervention,” Dr Reeves told NewsWire.
“The Department of Child Safety should have been more vigilant, especially given the high-risk nature of her circumstances, including her health needs and her family’s situation.”
In 2021 – a year before Elizabeth’s death – her parents Jason and Kerrie Struhs were charged with failing to supply their daughter with the necessaries of life after they failed to seek medical treatment for her Type 1 diabetes, which was diagnosed in 2019.
Jason Struhs pleaded guilty and received a suspended sentence, while his wife was found guilty by a jury and jailed for five months in 2021.
At the time Kerrie Struhs was already a member of The Saints – a Toowoomba-based religious group who do not believe in modern medicine.
Jason Struhs would later join the sect.
Dr Reeves said Elizabeth’s initial visit to hospital indicated her health had already been compromised, and her “vulnerability to neglect or harm” should have raised red flags with the Department.
Jason Struhs, the father of Elizabeth Struhs, talks to detectives on the day Elizabeth was found dead about his decision to stop administering his child’s insulin.
She said there appeared to be a “lack of co-ordination” between government agencies in protecting Elizabeth from a “known, ongoing risk” of exposure to extreme religious ideologies, given the group’s deprecation of medicine.
“It’s troubling that concerns about Elizabeth’s insulin use were not addressed with urgency,” Dr Reeves said.
“The Department would have been aware of this, as well as the mother’s release, thus raising questions about why appropriate actions weren’t taken to ensure her safety.”
“Even if the Department had previous engagement with her family, there should have been ongoing risk assessments and intervention strategies put in place to address these concerns.”
During the trial of the 14 co-accused, crown prosecutor Caroline Marco said emails between Elizabeth’s parents and Child Safety were located on Kerrie Struhs’ mobile phone.
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On August 8, 2019, The Saints leader Brendan Stevens texted Kerrie about the concerns Child Safety had raised.
“CS (Child Safety) is no doubt worried that you will try to stop him administering medication to her, but that is not the case,” Brendan Stevens’ writes.
Kerrie responds, telling him she would not be stopping her husband with the administration of insulin.
“They’re more concerned about us influencing Elizabeth to not need it, which will cause her to decline it or will mess with her head,” her text reads.
In an email to Child Safety the following day, she assures them Jason and Elizabeth will be able to continue their routine without her intervention.
“All we will do is continue to pray for the certain healing that God has promised,” Kerrie’s email states.
“Elizabeth will be no way tossed between Jason and my beliefs. I expect Elizabeth to continue to respect and obey her father, unless it goes against the word of God.
“She will continue to receive what you believe she needs.”
In her email, Kerrie states Jason will take whatever action is necessary – even removing Elizabeth from the home – if he senses anything wrong.
“Unfortunately, we know from the events that transpired that what Mrs Struhs conveyed to the Department of Child Safety would occur, did not,” Ms Marco told the court.
“Less than 2.5 years later, Elizabeth would die as a result of her parents’ failure to provide her with insulin and medical treatment.”
NewsWire put a series of questions to the Department of Child Safety about the contact officers had with Elizabeth’s parents, including what steps were taken to investigate the risks of her family environment and whether they had any knowledge of the risk the congregation’s beliefs posed to her health.
Child Safety did not answer any of the questions.
Instead, they called Elizabeth’s death a “tragedy” and said: “As the matter is currently before the court, it would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this stage.”
“The Child Protection Act 1999 prevents us from commenting on individual cases,” a spokeswoman told NewsWire.
“Under the Act, we undertake a Systems and Practice Review if a child dies or is seriously physically injured and they were known to the department in the 12 months prior to their death or injury.”
They also refused to answer questions relating to an article in The Toowoomba Chronicle in December 2023, which revealed the Department had no contact with Elizabeth from the time her mother was released from prison in December 2021 until her death on January 7, 2022.
The article revealed while a case file was opened for Elizabeth, chronic understaffing over the Christmas period meant staff did not physically check on the little girl.
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Further attempts by NewsWire to seek information or documents relating to the Struhs’ contact with the Department under Right to Information laws were refused in 2022, due to the documents being considered as “likely containing personal information”.
Dr Reeves said the case could set a precedent for Child Safety and how authorities handle situations involving children being exposed to extremist beliefs and environments which pose a risk to their wellbeing.
“Elizabeth’s exposure to harmful and potentially life-threatening extremist ideologies, coupled with systemic failures by the Department, highlights the need for the adaptation of systems to address the complex challenges posed by such situations,” Dr Reeves said.
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“Departmental services typically focus on physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, neglect, and medical neglect. However, Elizabeth’s case demonstrates that exposure to harmful beliefs — such as anti-medical, anti-science, or cult-like ideologies — can also be extremely dangerous for children.”
While Queensland has introduced legislation covering industrial manslaughter, no such provisions exist for “corporate manslaughter” for government departments or agencies with vulnerable clients.
Section 290 of the Criminal Code states: “When a person undertakes to do any act the omission to do which is or may be dangerous to human life or health, it is the person’s duty to do that act: and the person is held to have caused any consequences which result to the life or health of any person by reason of any omission to perform that duty.”
Dr Reeves questioned whether this could apply for Child Safety officers who failed to make a visit or file a report, and whether they could be charged under this section.
“It would be better to hold senior officers of Child Safety with control of resources to account as per Section 34C of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) which has draconian penalties up to a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment,” she said.
Jason Struhs, 53, and 63-year-old Brendan Luke Stevens – who is the leader of The Saints – were both charged with Elizabeth’s murder, while Kerrie Struhs, 49, is charged with manslaughter.
Elizabeth’s older brother Zachary Alan Struhs, 22, Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, – the wife of Brendan Stevens – and the couple’s adult children Acacia Naree Stevens, 32, Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Sebastian James Stevens, 24, Andrea Louise Stevens, 35, Camellia Claire Stevens, 29, and Alexander Francis Stevens, 26, Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, and his wife Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26, and a third woman, Keita Courtney Martin, 24, were also charged with manslaughter.
On Wednesday, Justice Martin Burns found Brendan and Jason not guilty of murder, but guilty of the alternate count of manslaughter.
The other 12 members of The Saints were found guilty of manslaughter.
In his judgment – published online – Justice Burns notes Elizabeth was a “vibrant, happy child” with her whole life ahead of her, and she was “lovingly cared for” by her parents and “adored” by members of the congregation.
“However, due to a singular belief in the healing power of God which, to the minds of her parents and the other members of the Church left no room for recourse to any form of medical care or treatment, she was deprived of the one thing that would most definitely have kept her alive – insulin,” the judgment states.
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