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TASMANIA — A man looking to uncover evidence of paranormal activity in his home instead discovered evidence of something much more real and much worse — a sexual relationship between his 16-year-old son and his 28-year-old partner.
The woman eventually pleaded to five counts of sexual intercourse with a young person.
According to court testimony reported in The Mercury, the man forgot to turn off the camera after setting it up in the kitchen. He later reviewed the film, whereupon he discovered his "de facto" partner kissing the boy. The boy would be considered her stepson according to Tasmanian law.
The woman, whose name was not released, told a court that she and the boy had a strained relationship, but a conversation about driving lessons led to intercourse in the days prior to the accidental filming.
The boy admitted to his father that the two had sex three times. The woman also told a judge she had followed the boy to another part of Tasmania where they had intercourse in a hotel room. The Mercury also reported that the woman apparently thought the age of consent in Tasmania was 16, when in fact it is 17.
Steve Chopping, defense attorney for the woman, said that she is trying to reconcile with her partner, with whom she shares a young child.
"She accepts this is not a relationship which can or will continue," he told the court.