Bid to film paranormal activity led to man accidentally recording partner having sex with his son

A Tasmanian man who set up a video camera to capture paranormal activity in his kitchen instead recorded evidence of his partner engaging in a sexual relationship with his 16-year-old son, the Supreme Court in Hobart heard. A 28-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons,  pleaded guilty to five counts of having sexual intercourse with a young person.

Crown Prosecutor Jackie Hartnett told the court in October last year the woman had gone to her stepson's room to discuss his driving lessons. Although the pair had previously had a strained relationship, tickling led to kissing and then to intercourse, the prosecutor said. The following day, the woman's de facto partner set up a video camera in a bid to capture evidence of paranormal activity in the house, but forgot to turn it off. When he returned from work and reviewed the footage, he saw his son and the woman kissing and cuddling.



He questioned his partner, who downplayed the incident but his son confessed that they had sex three times in the preceding days. The man called the police and the woman admitted during a video recorded interview to having sex with the boy twice and admitted knowing he was sixteen. Ms Hartnett told the court that in the following weeks the woman followed the boy to another part of the state where they had sex several times in a hotel room.

Defence lawyer Steve Chopping said his client has been in a relationship with the boy's father for 11 years and the couple had a young child and the incident had split the couple up. The woman had been under the mistaken impression the age of consent in Australia was 16 and was ashamed and embarrassed at her conduct and was working on reconciling with her former partner. "She accepts this is not a relationship which can or will continue," he told the court. Justice David Porter remanded the woman in custody and will sentence her on Monday.