Daughter avoids conviction after sexual affair with her father
A young woman in New Zealand is seeking a discharge without conviction after pleading guilty to a charge of incest involving her father. The case highlights the woman's complex personal history, including various mental health and developmental challenges.
Why it matters
The case raises significant legal and ethical questions regarding criminal responsibility and sentencing for individuals with intellectual disabilities and trauma histories.
A father and daughter who had consensual sex could be heard in the act by other house occupants.
On at least one occasion, an occupant walked in on the pair having sex.
When police were alerted, the father – in his 70s – told officers he wasn’t doing anything wrong.
The Waikato woman, who was in her late teens at the time, appeared for sentencing in the Hamilton District Court on Monday on a charge of incest.
She applied for a discharge without conviction, and has continued interim name suppression pending a hearing in November.
Detailing the facts, Judge Tini Clark explained the woman had a “complex” background.
She had only recently met her father before offending, and soon after moved in with him.
The pair shared a bed, and the affair began.
Other house occupants regularly heard the pair having sex, and openly talking about having sex together.
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