Teen In ‘Most Inbred Family' Has No Idea Which Of His Brothers Is Dad Of Sister's Unborn Baby

By Aleena in News On 26th May 2022
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According to a family tree, the incestuous Colt family was revealed to be extremely intertwined, with at least 14 children born to parents who were related to one another.

On Tuesday, Frank Colt (an alias) was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old relative in the back seat of his car during a visit to the family farm near Yass in 2010.

Image: news.com.au

Police discovered nearly 40 members of the clan living in a filthy bush camp two years after the crime. Colt is currently awaiting his sentence.

The clan's patriarch, Tim Colt, who died in 2009, fathered seven children with his wife, June, according to a graphic based on information published by the Children's Court in 2013.

Image: news.com.au

According to the evidence presented at trial this week, the victim, who goes by the pseudonym Petra Colt, was the child of Frank Colt's father, Tim, and sister, Betty.

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As the family moved between rural Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory, Tim Colt fathered 12 more children for Betty and five for his eldest daughter Rhonda.

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The trial heard that his youngest daughter had children with her brother Charlie.

According to the family tree, four generations lived together, including four children who would have been patriarch Tim's great-grandchildren (and grandchildren).

Sally, one of the children, died at two months.

The majority of the children at the camp were severely malnourished and illiterate when authorities discovered it in 2012.

Twelve of the children were still minors, and DNA testing revealed that 11 of them were the offspring of closely related parents.

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All of the women involved denied any familial ties and disputed any genetic evidence presented in court regarding the children's paternity.

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A further 12 second or third-generation family members who were legally adults and thus not required to submit to genetic testing lived in the commune.

It's unclear whether their parents were related to them in the same way some of their younger siblings and cousins were.

Frank Colt's trial heard the victim, Petra, 17, had told police she was living in a cult where 'all my aunts, uncles and cousins have been sleeping together.' 

She also claimed she had never been to school, was legally blind and was physically abused by members of her family.  

The victim's evidence was 'simply and matter-of-factly put' and was powerful and credible given her upbringing and rudimentary education, Judge Gina O'Rourke of the New South Wales District Court said.

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'She did not try to gild the lily and attribute other acts to the accused,' Judge O'Rourke said. 

When the judge's verdict became clear, Colt, whose bail had been revoked, began crying.

Throughout the investigation and trial, he maintained his right to silence, with his lawyer arguing that the sexual encounter never occurred.

Colt was remanded in custody pending his sentencing because he shares the same father as his victim.

In 2012, police discovered about 40 members of the family living on a NSW bush block in an uninsulated shed, old caravans, and tents.

In a statement tendered at Frank Colt's trial, Wagga inspector Stephen Radford described smelling urine and faeces in living areas and said there were no toilets or showers on the 'commune-style living arrangement'. 

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The two-day trial heard Colt didn't live at the farm but had visited sometime in February 2010.

His victim spoke to police several times from 2013 onwards but only mentioned the rape in 2018 when police were interviewing her about other events.

Judge O'Rourke said aspects of the police investigation 'seem wanting' but didn't accept Mr Coyne's assertion that his client was targeted in the two recorded police interviews

Detectives asked about 20 questions about the rape, failing to ascertain details about the type and duration of the rape or whether any words were spoken.

'(It's) somewhat bewildering that no follow-up interview was done to add to the bare bones of the allegation,' Judge O'Rourke said.

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But the judge said the victim had strongly maintained her version of events and did not attempt to exaggerate or bolster her claim, even when the opportunity arose at trial.

The trial heard Petra Colt, during a solo trip to Victoria in 2013, told police she had never gone to school, lived 'in a cult' and that 'all my aunts, uncles and cousins have all been sleeping together'.

She later made a second, unsigned statement to New South Wales police retracting her claims.

Frank Colt's brother Charlie and nephew Cliff are due to face trial on other sexual assault allegations this week.