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Home / World

Ex-Kiwi Colt family heads to trial in Australia on incest charges

By Candace Sutton
news.com.au·
23 May, 2019 07:44 PM3 mins to read

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8 April 2018 | Two of the eight people involved in the Colt family case have been arrested. Video / Nine Network

Over 40 years since a Kiwi couple moved to Australia and began four generations of incest, the descendants of Tim and June Colt are finally facing justice.

Matriarch of the alleged incest family Betty Colt, her two sisters, two brothers, daughter and nephew have appeared in the same courtroom for the first time since as they head to trial, reports news.com.au

Betty Colt's sister, brother and daughter appeared in person and while the five others were beamed in by audio visual link from various NSW prisons.

All waived their right to a committal hearing before magistrate Robert Williams ordered them to stand trial, as two of the brothers and a nephew were served with multiple new charges.

Grey-haired and subdued, Betty Colt sat in the video booth of a country women's prison, briefly smiling as Mr Williams addressed her.

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At the same time her brother Roderick, who is on bail, stood in Central Local Court as a further 14 charges were laid on top of five amended charges against him.

Betty Colt and her daughter Raylene and six other members of the family will stand trial in the NSW District Court. Photo / News Corp
Betty Colt and her daughter Raylene and six other members of the family will stand trial in the NSW District Court. Photo / News Corp

Betty's older sister Rhonda and daughter Raylene also appeared in person in the court.

Brother Charlie, also looking older and greyer since his arrest, appeared by video link from a prison outside Sydney.

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He was charged with a further 14 counts on top of 13 amended charges.

Betty's nephew Cliff appeared from a Sydney prison and was served with 14 fresh charges on top of seven amended charges.

Betty Colt has spent 13 months behind bars charged with five counts of making a false statement on oath amounting to perjury, and of perverting the course of justice.

Her two sisters and daughter also are facing a charge of making a false statement amounting to perjury.

Discover more

World

NZ-origin incest clan: 'I'll never get over what I saw'

07 Apr 10:16 PM
World

Colt incest family's life on the run

17 Jul 08:32 AM
World

The 'normal' family with a depraved secret

28 Sep 07:09 AM
Police arrest Charlie Colt, who has now been laid with fresh charges and will face trial. Photo / NSW Police
Police arrest Charlie Colt, who has now been laid with fresh charges and will face trial. Photo / NSW Police

The four male Colts, aged between 29 and 49, are accused of charges including incest, indecent assault of a person under 16 and sexual intercourse with children aged under 14.

Their arrests in April 2018 came more than five years after 40 members of the same family were found living in squalor on a rural NSW property.

The farm was a squalid camp and the children were malformed and devoid of hygiene.

But that all came to a halt when police and welfare authorities found 38 Colt family members living on a squalid NSW farm where it's alleged sex among the interrelated children was rampant.

Inside the squalid family farm in a remote bush camp where brother and sister allegedly slept together in a 'marital' bed. Photo / News Corp
Inside the squalid family farm in a remote bush camp where brother and sister allegedly slept together in a 'marital' bed. Photo / News Corp

Some children spoke in unintelligible speech, walked in a shuffling fashion, didn't know how to bathe or clean their rotting teeth and used the bush as their only toilet.

Many of them had avoided school, had developmental delays, cognitive impairments and physical deformities associated with inbreeding such as low slung ears and misaligned facial features.

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Police will rely on DNA tests to support their case that 14 of the Colt children had been fathered by a relative of their mother, and the interrelated children themselves were allegedly involved in rampant sexual activity.

Martha Colt appeared in Central Local Court via video link from a Sydney women's prison. Photo / Supplied
Martha Colt appeared in Central Local Court via video link from a Sydney women's prison. Photo / Supplied

Five of the Colts facing charges are the grandchildren of a Kiwi brother and sister who were the parents of the Betty's mother June Colt.

Three are the great-grandchildren.

Betty Colt, brothers Charlie and Roderick, sisters Martha and Rhonda, daughter Raylene and nephew Cliff will stand trial, to appear in the Sydney District Court on June 3.

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