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Daily Record
Daily Record
World
Sarah Leonard & Chloe Burrell

Horror of 'world's most inbred family' where the parents of 14 children are all related

A horrifying family tree, where the parents of 14 children are related to one another as part of an incestuous cult, has been revealed.

The lengths of the Colt families' inbreeding were unveiled during the two-day court trial of Frank Colt.

The 51 was last week found guilty of raping his teenage niece - who is also his sister.

Colt took advantage of the victim, protected by the fake name Petra Colt, in the back seat of his car on a visit to their family farm near Yass, in New South Wales, Australia, in 2015, The Mirror reports.

Petra, during a solo trip to Victoria in 2013, had previously reported to police that she was living in a cult where "all my aunts, uncles and cousins have been sleeping together."

Frank Colt was arrested for raping his 17 year old niece, who was also his sister (The Mirror)

She also said that she had never been to school and was physically abused by members of her family.

She later withdrew her claims in a second, unsigned statement to New South Wales police, but spoke to them several times from 2013 onwards, mentioning the rape during questioning in 2018.

Judge Gina O'Rourke of the New South Wales District Court said that parts of the police investigation "seem wanting".

Detectives had asked Petra about 20 questions about the offence, failing to ascertain details about the type and duration of the rape or whether any words were spoken.

The Judge said: "[It's] somewhat bewildering that no follow-up interview was done to add to the bare bones of the allegation."

But, she said that Petra's evidence was "simply and matter-of-factly put" and was powerful and credible given her upbringing and rudimentary education.

Judge O'Rourke added: "She did not try to gild the lily and attribute other acts to the accused."

Frank remained silent throughout the hearing whilst his barrister argued that the sexual intercourse never happened.

Petra had previously reported to police that she was living in 'a cult' (The Mirror)

He was found guilty on Tuesday, May 10, and is remanded in custody as he awaits sentencing. His bail has been revoked.

His brother Charlie and nephew Cliff are also facing allegations of sexual assault.

It was not in dispute at trial that Petra was the product of Frank Colt's father Tim and sister Betty.

Both victim and offender have the same father, Tim Colt, the patriarch of the family, who died in 2009.

Tim Colt allegedly had sex with three of his daughters - known as Rhonda, Betty, and Martha - and impregnated them (Supplied)
Betty Colt had 12 children by her father (AAP/PA Images)

Before his death, Tim had fathered seven children with his wife June, who was also his sister.

He had also fathered 12 other children by their daughter Betty and five children by his eldest daughter Rhonda, as the family moved between rural Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Tim's youngest daughter had children to her brother Charlie, the trial heard.

Police discovered the 40-strong family back in 2012, two years before Petra's rape.

At least a dozen children lived in squalor without running water (The Mirror)

At one time, nearly four generations were living together in a bush camp made up of an uninsulated shed, old caravans and tents, including four children who would have been the great-grandchildren (and grandchildren) of patriarch, Tim.

Of the 12 children in the camp, DNA testing confirmed 11 of them were the product of parents who were closely related to one another.

Most of the kids were severely malnourished, lived in tents without running water, toilets or electricity and could not speak intelligible English.

One of the children, Sally, died when she was just two months old.

A further 12 second or third generation members of the family were also living in the commune.

The camp was described as smelling of urine and faeces (The Mirror)

However, they were legally adults and weren't required to submit for genetic testing.

All of the women involved denied the familial connection and dispute any genetic evidence as to the paternity of the children that was presented in court.

In a statement tendered at Frank Colt's trial, Wagga inspector Stephen Radford described smelling urine and faeces in living areas and said there were no toilets or showers on the "commune-style living arrangement".

The family had managed to evade raising alarm bells with social services by moving from state to state, until locals noticed some of the kids didn't attend school.

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