A man has been jailed after fathering two children with his niece.
He has been sentenced to four years in prison and must now sign the sex offenders register, while his niece has received a community order. The pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were reportedly in a ‘consensual’ incestuous relationship.
Hull Crown Court heard that social services became involved when the niece gave birth to the two children and DNA tests proved her uncle was the father, the Daily Mail reports.
Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told the court: “The reality is, they were having an intimate, consensual sexual relationship with each other.
“This is an appalling and sad case in equal measure. I approach my task this afternoon with a sense of compassion coupled with reality…You must be punished, but I have not lost sight of the principle of mercy. “
Addressing the man, he said: “You were in every sense the product of a comprehensively dysfunctional family. This led you to lead an utterly disordered life in relation to your own family.”
While sentencing the woman, he told the court she was “as much sinned against as sinning.”
The man was sentenced to four and a half years in prison and must sign the sex offenders register for life. The woman has been given a community order with 12 months supervision.
The children are no longer in their parents’ care. The judge said: “These children are in an extremely difficult position through no fault of their own. My feelings of compassion are for them.”
