Shocking True Story Of Incest Family That Spanned Five Generations Consisting Of Nearly 40 Relatives

Genetic testing confirmed that the Colt family had been involved in 'generational' incest.

In July 2012, agents from the Department of Family and Community Services conducted a raid on a property in New South Wales, Australia.

This property was home to the group now known as the Colt family.

During this raid, they found children living in conditions of 'squalor.' 

Part of the Colt's property authorities raided 9News

Genetic tests conducted later on these children indicated that many had parents who were related to each other.

The authorities first learned about the family's situation in June 2010.

At that time, they received reports concerning the neglect of the children, their consistent absence from school, and a lack of necessary medical care, as reported by The Guardian.

Social services had previously instructed the family to improve their living conditions, which they reportedly did by June 2012. 

However, in July, the authorities returned to the property, which consisted of two caravans and some old tents.

Police reported the children were living in 'squalor' 9News

They removed 12 children from the site due to concerns about their safety.

Detective Inspector Peter Yeomans, quoted by The Daily Telegraph in 2014, expressed his shock:

"I’ve never seen it before. I’ve never encountered a situation like this before, especially regarding how children were being raised in such conditions. 

"[...] 'Squalor' is probably the best word to describe their living conditions [...] Children shouldn’t be living in those conditions."

The children, who were between five and 15 years old, were found to be in various states of developmental and cognitive delay. 

Some of them were 'developmentally delayed', others 'cognitively impaired', and several were 'unable to speak intelligibly'.

Further assessments by psychologists and social workers, along with additional genetic testing, confirmed that 'generational' incest had occurred within the family.

Multiple members of the family were arrested 9News

Several children reported experiencing 'inappropriate sexual conduct' with each other, and there were also reports that some displayed 'sexualized behavior'.

The family members, all using pseudonyms with the collective surname of the Colt family, trace their origins back to 40 years ago.

This history began when Timothy and June Colt got married in 1966 in New Zealand.

The couple had seven children and later moved to Australia.

It is also reported that Timothy, who passed away in 2009, fathered children with not just one of his daughters but also one of his granddaughters.

Three of the children removed from the property claimed that their uncle, Charlie, was also their father.

Furthermore, one of the children, who was 12 years old, alleged that Charlie had also had sex with her.

Betty, Rhonda, and Martha, daughters of Timothy and June, who lived on the raided property, are said to have been the mothers of 11 of the 12 children removed by the authorities.

The mother of the twelfth child is believed to be Raylene, one of Betty's daughters.

According to reports by The New Zealand Herald, some family members claimed they were 'proud of their family values'.

Despite the mothers' denials that the fathers of their children were related to them, genetic testing proved otherwise, showing that many other individuals in the family were 'related' if not 'closely related'.

Detective Inspector Yeomans commented on the unusual nature of the case: 

"I’ve never come across something, in relation to allegations of incest, that is generational in these sort of circumstances."

The case was brought into the public eye when the New South Wales Court published its judgement in September 2013.

The court decided the children would remain in care until they reached the age of 18, as there was 'no realistic possibility of restoration of any of the children'.