Eight people have been arrested across three states in Australia following a six-year investigation into suspected historic and ongoing child abuse in southern New South Wales. Chilling details of alleged multi-generational incest, child sexual assault, and serious neglect of children emerged back in 2013 after a children’s court judge made a ruling to allow the details of the horrific “Colt*” family to be published in the judgment.
Police took six years to investigate the serious allegations and on Thursday, April 5, were finally able to make the arrests, according to a police statement.
Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad told reporters that the reasons it has taken the authorities six years to charge the Colt* family is due to difficulty in locating the accused, DNA testing, the delicate legal proceedings, and the horrific nature of the case, reported Fairfax.
Eight people arrested over alleged historic and ongoing child abuse – SCC Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad https://t.co/6QSsSbwBDn
— NSW Police (@nswpolice) April 5, 2018
Back in 2012, investigators discovered 12 victims — all children under the age of 16 — who were living in squalid conditions in a group of about 40 adults and children without running water or electricity.
According to the newspaper, the children appeared malnourished, filthy and had minimal speech. Many of the children did not even know how to use a toothbrush or toilet paper, and couldn’t look people in the eye.
Some of the children were sleeping in tents, while other children were in dirty caravans filled with mud and cigarette butts. The area was littered with trash, and electrical wires and chainsaws were lying exposed on the property.
Genetic testing of the children showed that all but one of the 12 children had parents who were related or closely related.
Among the claims, one of the children had the same father as her mother and her grandmother. Other children were raped by their siblings, reported The Daily Telegraph.
The judge in the 2013 NSW Children’s Court case made a precedent-setting decision to remove the children from the home permanently.
In a major update on Friday, April 6, police said they have arrested eight members of the “Colt*” family across South Australia (SA), New South Wales (NSW), and Western Australia (WA) and charged them over “allegations of the most horrific kinds of child abuse.”
In the Griffith area of NSW, a 38-year-old Martha Colt* was arrested on charges of perjury dating back to 2013, and her 45-year-old brother Charlie Colt* was charged with six counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10, four counts of indecent assault, sexual intercourse with a child aged between 10-14, aggravated act of indecency, and common assault. They were both taken to Griffith police station.
Police alleged the pair had routinely slept with each other and bore children, reported The Daily Telegraph.
In Riverland, South Australia, three people were arrested on NSW arrest warrants. A 29-year-old Derek Colt* was arrested on charges of two counts of incest with a person under the age of 16 years, while two women, 34-year-old Raylene Colt* and 50-year-old Betty Colt*, were arrested for perjury.
Three people arrested in Northam, WA, were taken to Perth police station — all on NSW arrest warrants. A 51-year-old woman was for perjury, a 36-year-old man for four counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10, two counts of indecent assault and having sexual intercourse with a child aged between 10-14, and a 48-year-old man was charged with counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10.
Police are currently applying for those arrested in SA and WA to be extradited to NSW, according to the statement.
Martha and Charlie, who were arrested from NSW, appeared at Griffith local court on Friday, April 6, and were refused bail.
According to a 2013 children’s court ruling, four mothers Rhonda*, Betty*, Martha* and Raylene* had disputed the results of the DNA testing and sought to restore the care of their children. They had offered names of fathers who were all either dead or could not be found, reported Fairfax.
In November 2014, mother-of-13 Betty* was found guilty of two charges of procuring the removal of one of her children from foster care and one charge of recruiting her older child to carry out or assist in criminal activity, being the kidnapping of the younger child, reported Fairfax. She was subsequently sentenced to one year in prison.
According to court documents, Betty* could not bear the removal of her children.
*Please note: Pseudonyms have been assigned to the accused in the 2013 Children’s court case to protect the minors
Credit: NSW Police Force via Storyful
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