Her foster father - a white man in Cairns - and her natural mother - an Aboriginal woman from Aurukun - say they knew something terrible would happen. They acted on those fears. Gang rape was a "foreseeable event", says her foster father, who cannot be named because it could identify the girl. Yet authorities ignored his pleas, returning the girl to Aurukun without telling him. He says he was told it was to be a four-day visit.

"What weight does my word have as a foster carer? I and others believe this event could have been prevented," he told the Cairns Post newspaper. The girl's mother shared his concerns. According to The Australian, she was aware some of the offenders had been involved in the first assault of her daughter. "She should never have been allowed to come back from foster care while those boys were still here. We told that to welfare," the girl's mother said. Last night, Queensland's Department of Child Safety said the girl was originally taken back only to visit her family and attend a funeral. Once there, she had refused to leave and jumped out of the car as she was being driven to the airport to return to Cairns.

"The child strongly wanted to remain with her family and her community. Removal … would have required physical force. This could have resulted in further trauma and psychological harm," said the director-general, Norelle Deeth. Ms Deeth said relatives had told the department they would keep the girl safe. She would live away from the main community.

But the rape occurred soon after her return. Her nine attackers would eventually plead guilty before Judge Bradley in the Queensland District Court. It was during sentencing submissions that their backgrounds emerged as the judge weighed whether to jail them. Her decision not to - and her comment that the girl had "probably agreed" to have sex - attracted a storm of criticism and prompted a Queensland Government appeal and inquiry. It was a decision reached after Judge Bradley had listened to evidence on the rapists' lives and their attitudes to the crime they had committed. The lawyer for one of the youths, 17 at the time of the rape, spoke of his client's "great sense of shame". But Judge Bradley said the youth "did not appear to show remorse". He had said "that having sex with a girl that's only 10 years old is normal". Claims of remorse by another, 20-year-old Ian Koowarta, were also dismissed. "Ian didn't feel sorry for the complainant," the judge said.

Against this she weighed nine troubled pasts. All had criminal histories. Only two were schooled beyond year 9. Koowarta couldn't read or write at all. The eldest, Raymond Woolla, 26, was considered intellectually "slow". Most of them lived with grandparents because their parents were unable to care for them. "As far as children go, they haven't been very well looked after," prosecutor Steve Carter said.

One lawyer said the boys' families were in "crisis". The boys got involved in "drinking or smoking or sniffing or stealing and it becomes quite a vicious cycle". Mr Carter told the court "some drastic intervention" was needed if their lives were to be turned around. He advised Judge Bradley against jail terms. She accepted that recommendation. No convictions were recorded for the six youngest. The older offenders were given suspended sentences. In its statement last night, the department said the girl was now back in its care, staying with indigenous carers. She was being educated long-distance and receiving counselling. It was hoped she would attend school in 2009.