Colt clan incest case

The Colt family incest case, dubbed by media as the Colt incest clan, is an Australian family discovered in 2013 to have been engaging in four generations of incest beginning with "Tim and June Colt," a brother and sister who emigrated from New Zealand in the 1970s. The family grew to nearly 40 members ranging from grandparents to mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, nephews, brothers and sisters all engaging in various forms of incest. Many of the children suffered from deformities and medical problems. The case has been described by lead investigator Peter Yeomans as, "like nothing I’ve ever seen," and was so shocking that in a rare move the Australian family court allowed full details to be made public, albeit with all names changed to pseudonyms for the children's protection, including the family name of "Colt."

Background

In the first half of the 20th century, brother and sister "Tim and June Colt" lived in New Zealand. In 1966, she married her brother and ultimately gave birth to seven children: Martha, Frank, Paula, Betty, Cherry, Rhonda, and Charlie, before moving to Victoria in the 1970s.

The family was led by matriarch Betty Colt along with her brother Charlie Colt who, together, had 12 children. The family was known to frequently relocate before locals became suspicious. They relocated to New South Wales, 20 miles outside of a small town three and a half hours southwest of Sydney. The police ultimately discovered nearly 40 members of the family living under squalid conditions in tents and shacks.

Investigation

Knowledge of the family came to authorities in June 2010, which led to seven "risk of significant harm reports" being reported. However, an official investigation was not opened until July 2012 when a child reported overhearing another child at a local primary school speaking of an unkempt girl, living in the woods, who was pregnant with a child fathered by a brother. The child overheard the girl state that one of her sisters was pregnant and they did not know which of her brothers was the father.

Over the next year police tracked the family down and put several children in foster care including Bobby and Billy Colt. Police discovered the living area of 38 members of the family in the woods located on the outskirts of New South Wales. Children and adults had regularly engaged in sexual activities, resulting in children, some with genetic deformities. They had no access to running water, showers, toilets or hygiene products. Most of the children had fungal infections. The Colts were charged with incest and child neglect.

Betty Colt legally disputed the charges and attempted to regain custody. Detective Peter Yeomans currently leads the investigation. After tracking the cellular activities of Betty, police discovered text messages of a sexual nature sent to her son, Bobby. She and Bobby had made plans to abduct Billy from foster care. Genetic testing showed that Bobby was the product of incest between Betty and a father or full brother.

The case has been described as unique because of the reluctance of the victims to come forward.

The Children's Court of New South Wales took the unusual step of publishing their decision permanently removing the children. In the court's findings, the neglect of the children and genetic evidence were viewed as dispositive in the matter, holding, "There is no realistic possibility of restoration of any of the children" to their biological family.

See also

• Goler clan
• Moe incest case