Girl gave birth to baby by her teen brother
A GIRL who was rushed to hospital with stomach pains gave birth to her brother’s baby a short time later, a court has heard.
The girl had been just 11 when she was raped by her brother in the family home.
Swansea Crown Court heard the siblings were growing up in a “dysfunctional” household where the parents exercised little control and created a culture of “secrecy and lies” and where there were “blurred sexual boundaries”.
The teenage father – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of statutory rape when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
Georgina Buckley, prosecuting, said the offending came to light when the girl was rushed to hospital in South West Wales in the early hours of the morning suffering with severe stomach pains. Within a couple of hours she had given birth.
The court heard a midwife carefully asked the girl whether she had had sex and the youngster replied that she didn’t know. When asked if she had consented she said she thought so but wasn’t sure.
Miss Buckley said it was not clear whether the girl realised she was pregnant or not. She told a midwife she had not known but she was overheard telling other people in hospital that she had known.
The authorities became involved and the girl’s teenage brother was interviewed by police.
He admitted to officers that he and his sibling had been “wrestling” downstairs on one occasion while their parents were out and they had then gone upstairs to wrestle on the bed as it was more comfortable. He said they had begun kissing before each removing their own clothes and then having sex.
The prosecutor said there were no suggestions that any coercion or threats had been involved in the incident.
Dean Pulling, for the defendant, said the background to the offending were the “difficult and dysfunctional circumstances” of the family unit where the mother and father created a culture of “secrecy and lies”.
He said it was clear from the numerous reports before the court that the children had been subjected to a “dysfunctional, neglectful, and potentially abusive upbringing” where there was little in the way of parental control or guidance and there were “blurred sexual boundaries”.
The barrister said the defendant had been routinely exposed to pornography in the family home from the age of 10.
Mr Pulling said: “Children are the products of their upbringing and the environment they are exposed to.”
The court heard the defendant is remorseful.
The barrister invited the court to follow the recommendations contained in the reports and impose a non-custodial sentence, arguing “custody would achieve little but cost a great deal”.
Judge Christopher Vosper QC made the defendant the subject of a two-year youth referral order with a supervision requirement and an activity requirement.
The defendant will be a registered sex offender for 30 months.