Man at centre of shocking incest case 'flees Australia'
The man allegedly at the centre of one of Australia's worst incest and sexual abuse cases in Australia's history has reportedly fled the country.
In December, the shocking case of intergenerational child abuse was brought to the forefront of the media.
The family in southwest NSW had been under investigation for neglect and abuse for two years, until a dozen children were removed in 2012, according to the ABC.
The children, all under the age of 16, are believed to be part of a dark family secret that has lasted for three generations.
Disturbing and depraving secrets of the normally picturesque Australian area have emerged, alleging children born from generations of incest, unwashed and with physical deformities, lived together in a cult with others.
They were found living on a remote farm in a malnourished state in a community of 40, barely able to speak and without running water and electricity for most of their lives.
The man at the centre of the case, known as "Charlie Colt", reportedly spoke to News Limited from an area outside London.
The 41-year-old said he fled the country last in a bid to research his family history before being arrested.
"I thought ‘bugger it’. When they arrest me I’ll be locked up for six to 12 months awaiting trial," he told the Sydney newspaper.
"I’ve never abused a child in my life, I’ve never abused another person."
"I love my whole family dearly, but not sexually. I think it’s absolutely disgusting, it’s wrong, it’s against everything we were brought up with."
The Daily Telegraph also claims that authorities were not aware of Colt's disappearance until they contacted investigators last night.
The case was reportedly exposed following an off-hand schoolyard remark.
The comment: “My sister is pregnant and we don’t know which of my brothers is the father.”
It was heard by one of the teachers at a southern NSW high school where the children went, and led authorities to discover the isolated farm and the removal of 12 children, News Limited reported.
The raid found 38 adults and children living in tin sheds and caravans without electricity, water or any kind of plumbing.
It was revealed at Parramatta Local Court that two family members were ordered to have DNA tests.
Further tests had been requested on 14 adults and two children as the family was being investigated on charges of rape and sexual assaults.
Between August 3, 2011 and July 18, 2012, there were more than 12 risk of harm reports made about the family with "minimal action taken".
Then came the report from the teacher.
"This report stated that one of the Colt children was overheard saying at school to the other children ‘my sister is pregnant and we don’t know which of my brothers is the father’,” the affidavit presented to court showed.
The court heard that the 29-year-old woman, given the pseudonym Tammy Colt, gave birth to a baby girl named Sally.
The girl died within two months of being born, suffering from a fatal genetic disease called Zellweger Syndrome, the court heard.
No father had been listed on the birth certificate, but Tammy later confessed to counsellors that she had had a three year relationship with one of her younger brothers.
Genetic tests later confirmed that both the mother and the father were carriers of the disease.
Sally's mother Betty Colt's case has been adjourned until August 18.
