30 August 2023 , 23:05
1114
0
The world's most inbred family of 40 kids was torn apart after a child was overheard in the school playground.
The Colt clan - an alias given by courts in New South Wales - was started by Tim with wife June after he left New Zealand for Australia in 1970. June was also a product of incest - and the couple went on to have seven children - Martha, Frank, Paula, Cherry, Rhonda, Betty, and Charlie. Tim is understood to have then fathered many of his own children's offspring, including four of Rhonda's.
He is alleged to have been raping Betty - who has 13 kids - since she was 12 years old - and even supposedly fathered one of his grandchildren’s children. June died in 2001 and Tim in 2009. But this was not the end of the family and instead the 40-strong clan was taken over by Betty.
Tim Colt (centre left) fathered a child with daughter Martha (centre right) (news.com.au)They would finally be found in 2012, living close to the Australian outback, with every member feared to have taken part in sexual encounters with at least one family member, reports the Daily Star.
But it was only through a moment of pure chance that police started trying to get to the bottom of the situation. Although the kids rarely attended school, usually just after welfare visits, it would be the playground that would see the grim circumstance brought to an end.
Nursery apologises after child with Down's syndrome ‘treated less favourably’
One of the children was overheard by a fellow pupil, stating one of her sisters was pregnant and they did not know which of her brothers was the father. This would start the chain of events that led to the investigation. The first to be arrested were brother and sister Martha and Charlie, who are understood to have shared a marital bed and have children together.
Martha's five children all resulted from incestuous relationships (news.com.au)
Tim Colt allegedly had sex with three of his daughters (Supplied)Arrested next were their siblings Rhonda and Frank, and Betty’s children Derek and Raylene, and Frank's son Cliff. The family’s farm was discovered as part of the investigation, with children between five and 12 located there. They suffered facial deformities, were illiterate had trouble with speech and didn’t know how to use toilet paper.
Instead, they slept by buckets filled with human waste. One boy had audio-visual problems, and another had a walking impairment and severe psoriasis. All children would be removed, with a court stating during the case: "There is no realistic possibility of restoration of any of the children to their biological family."
A sleeping area on the Colt incest farm (news.com.au)Betty was convicted of four counts of perjury, one of lying under oath and one of perverting the course of justice and given 14 months in jail. She would later be given another 12 months for trying to kidnap two of her sons from their foster parents and was prevented from contacting 14 family members.
Rhonda received a 14-month intensive corrections order which expired in August 2021, the New Zealand Herald reported. Raylene was sentenced to a 16-month ICO for perjury while Derek received a maximum of three years and ten months for incest in 2020 and Charlie4 was acquitted.
If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story, contact Victim Support for free, confidential advice on 08 08 16 89 111 or visit their website, www.victimsupport.org.uk.