Far North man allegedly raped wife, stepdaughter and committed bestiality on cows, calves

The man owned a large dairy farm in Northland. Photo / 123RF

WARNING: This article discusses allegations of sexual abuse and bestiality and has graphic content which may be upsetting to some readers.

A dairy farmer accused of raping his stepdaughter and wife over two decades is also alleged to have committed sexual acts with cows and calves.

The Far North man, whose identity is suppressed, is on trial at the Whangārei District Court facing 38 charges of sexual assault, including 15 of rape, one of bestiality involving cows, and one representative charge of performing indecent acts on calves.

Crown prosecutor Geraldine Kelly told the jury the offending began when the man’s stepdaughter was under 10 and escalated to near-nightly rapes over a decade.

She later disclosed being raped nearly 300 times and said she felt relief when the man got a vasectomy.

“Getting pregnant had been a concern for her before she was 12,” Kelly said.

Kelly said the girl remained silent out of love for her stepfather and confusion over her body’s response to the abuse.

Kelly went into detail around the man’s alleged sexual offending against his wife, which also allegedly occurred regularly because of the man’s daily requirement for sex.

The man allegedly believed rape didn’t exist and claimed all women eventually give in and enjoy sex, telling his wife “no means yes”.

On one occasion, the man allegedly told his wife he had been having sex with some of the cows and showed her where and how he did it.

During calving season, he also allegedly made the calves perform oral sex on him, which the wife observed.

The Crown alleges that on at least 20 occasions, following the act with the calves, he would make his wife have sex with him.

“She told him she found it repulsive,” Kelly said.

“But he would just do it.”

The man’s lawyer, Mathew Ridgley, said there will be an explanation for the acts explained later on in the trial, but the alleged bestiality with cows was nonsense.

“It’s a matter for you to decide whether what happened was indecent,” Ridgley said to the jury.

Ridgley also said his client acknowledged he had sex with his stepdaughter but it was consensual and when she was over the age of 16.

Ridgley also submitted any sex with his wife was consensual.

“We are not dealing with a case that is black or white. You 12 people are going to have to sift through the grey,” Ridgley requested of the jury.

The trial is expected to last three weeks before Judge Taryn Bayley.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.