Judge Paul Smith says ‘in the eyes of the law’ the alleged perpetrator is considered to be the victim’s natural brother

Queensland man could be jailed for life after alleged relationship with adopted sister

A Queensland man could spend life behind bars after a judge deemed relations between adopted siblings was incest.

The man, who cannot be named, had alleged sexual relations with his sister between September 1987 and September 1990.

He intended to plead guilty to the offence but the Brisbane district court judge Paul Smith first had to determine if it was a valid charge.

In his judgment handed down on Tuesday, Smith ruled the man was “open to be convicted of the incest count” because of provisions contained in the Adoption Act and Marriage Act.

Smith said “in the eyes of the law” the alleged perpetrator was considered to be the natural brother of the victim.

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The judge also referred to the section of the Marriage Act that prohibited the union of a man and a woman if they were brother and sister.

Smith acknowledged that, at the time of the alleged offending, the definition of incest in the Queensland criminal code referred only to a man’s mother, sister or lineal descendent.

In 1997 the definition of incest was widened to include the term sibling.

Smith confirmed he could not consider the current definition in ruling on the current case.

However, he referred to other matters where adopted children were deemed, by the law, to be the natural offspring of their parents in the same way as if they had “been born to such adopting parent in lawful wedlock”.

Smith found he could not rule against the validity of the charge because the brother and sister were considered to be as natural as biological siblings in the eyes of the law.

The man now faces a maximum of life imprisonment for the more than 25-year-old offences.