5 Jun 2014

Incest girl's 'oppressive conditions'

6:29 am on 5 June 2014

Details of the oppressive conditions endured by a girl adopted and brought to New Zealand when she was 15 have emerged now that her adoptive father has pleaded guilty to incest.

The 60-year-old man, whose name is suppressed, is to be sentenced next month.

His offending was revealed when the body of his daughter's baby was found in a neighbour's garden in 2012.

About three years after the daughter was adopted, her father began sexually abusing her, culminating in the pregnancy.

The young woman was charged with murdering the baby, but that prosecution was brought to an end earlier this year.

A police summary presented at the High Court in Wellington said the girl was expected to clean and cook for her adopted family and was beaten when she failed to do so.

Her father, a lay minister, claimed to be under the devil's influence when he offended.