Daughter avoids conviction after sexual affair with her father
A young woman with intellectual disabilities and complex health issues has avoided a conviction for incest following a sexual relationship with her father. The judge noted her lack of age-appropriate functioning while acknowledging the behavior was unacceptable.
Why it matters
The case highlights the intersection of the justice system, mental health, and the protection of vulnerable individuals.
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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