William Tyrrell’s foster parents are found guilty of intimidating a child

William Tyrrell’s foster parents have been found guilty of intimidating another child.

The foster mother, 58, was found guilty of two counts of harassment but cleared of other interactions after previously admitting two charges.

William’s 56-year-old foster father was found guilty of intimidation but was acquitted of assault after pleading not guilty to both charges.

The charges stemmed from 1,000 hours of secretly recorded audio, captured by police surveillance equipment, placed in the couple’s car and home over 14 months.

The child, who was between 10 and 11 years old at the time of the allegations, was removed from the couple’s home in November 2021, shortly before charges were filed.

There is no indication that the allegations are related to William Tyrrell’s disappearance, nor that the couple are accused of any wrongdoing in connection with him.

Magistrate Susan McIntyre told the court that although the foster father had used physical force to enforce a 44-minute timeout, this amounted to a lawful use of force.

Police alleged the 56-year-old put his hands around the young girl’s throat following interviews with the homicide unit and child protection services.

Ms McIntyre instead sided with lawyer Phillip English’s claims that the man pushed the child down after she told the couple she was leaving.

Conversely, Ms McIntyre found that the man’s actions during a previous argument in the foster father’s car in late 2020 did constitute a criminal offence.

The court was told the foster father swore and shouted at the child, causing her to cry loudly while on her way to school, in an interaction that was captured on police audio.

The foster father could be heard in the audio telling the child “every day” and later “move, fuck, move,” before allegedly driving to school in a rage.

“The defense claims these are passing words from a frustrated parent… While there is no need to prove they were scared, her ‘whimpering’ speaks for itself,” she said.

The audio further included allegations admitted by the foster mother that she had kicked and hit the child with a wooden spoon on several occasions.

William Tyrrell disappeared from Kendall, New South Wales in 2014 at the age of three

Friday’s verdict instead focused on two harassment allegations relating to six separate instances during the 14 months the house was bugged.

Ms McIntyre questioned prosecutors’ claims that a row over the child’s room in January 2021 amounted to criminal harassment.

The court was told the woman had told the child ‘you don’t have a voice until I tell you’, but the comments stemmed from comments about the state of the room.

Similar arguments were the subject of further harassment allegations, including over the dishwasher, but Ms McIntyre said the context of the situation was lacking.

She described the dynamic as no different from that of a normal family and the complainant’s actions were indicative of a frustrated and defiant young child.

The foster mother indicated to police that the home environment was tense and what she “didn’t do was run away when she started yelling” with the child.

The woman was ultimately found guilty of two counts of criminal intimidation related to threats to hit the child during heated arguments between the couple.

After one instance, the woman later said to the child, “I shouldn’t get to the point where I have to threaten to hurt you, that’s a huge problem.”

William Tyrrell disappeared from his foster grandparent’s home in Kendall on the NSW Mid North Coast in September 2014, sparking the state’s largest ever manhunt.

Nearly a decade later, police appear no closer to finding the missing toddler and have yet to charge anyone in connection with the three-year-old’s disappearance.

The couple will return to court on March 27 for sentencing.