An application to sell a farm owned by a trust associated with jailed Northland farmer Allan Titford is being heard in court.
Allan Titford. Photo: RNZ
Titford, an anti-Treaty of Waitangi activist and failed mayoral hopeful, was sentenced in the Whangarei District Court in November this year to 24 years in prison for rape, repeated assaults on his wife and children, fraud and arson.
On Friday, Titford was at the High Court in Auckland where an application to sell his Awanui farm was being heard. The farm has a conditional offer on it for $2.2 million.
The court was told that former wife Susan Cochrane is happy to sell the farm, while Mr Titford is against it.
The trustee looking after the farm has applied to the High Court for an order that will allow the property to be sold and the money left after the mortgage is repaid put into in a trust for Titford, Ms Cochrane and their children.
Ms Cochrane told Radio New Zealand on Friday she wants the farm sold so she can buy a house for her seven children.
She said she is not able to afford the rent on a house big enough for all, and two of her children have to live with another family. She said the family is struggling and she has had to move nine times since she left Titford.
The farm is said to be in bad condition and needs a new cow shed and effluent holding tanks, but has little cash-flow to cover the expenses.
