An uncle and niece who appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show have been found guilty of committing incest. Katie Buscombe, then aged 20, and Philip Buscombe (pictured), then aged 52, admitted sexual relations
An uncle and niece who appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show where they admitted to having a sexual relationship have been found guilty of committing incest.
Katie Buscombe was aged 20 at the time of the offence while her father’s brother, Philip Buscombe, was aged 52.
A court heard how the pair had a sexual relationship even though they had been warned it was against the law.
When the pair appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show, Katie, now 25, said her father was not her biological parent although this was disproved independently by social services in a DNA test.
They appeared at court for sentencing, having both previously pleaded guilty to having a sexual relationship with an adult relative between August 2012 and August 2013.
Prosecutor Heather Hope said Katie’s parents had split when she was young.
As an 18-year-old she made contact with her father Richard Buscombe and came to live with him and his brother Philip, now 57, in Bugle, near St Austell, Cornwall.
She said: ‘Richard left the family address as he was not happy with the situation between the two of them. Neither was he happy with his brother’s drinking.
‘It would seems there was concern in the family of the behaviour of the two of them and at the sleeping arrangements. It was thought they were sleeping together.’
She said social services became involved but the pair denied they were having a sexual relationship.
It was later that the police became involved when a DNA test revealed they were related.
When the pair appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show, Katie, now 25, said her father was not her biological parent although this was disproved independently by social services in a DNA test
Mary McCarthy, defending, said her client, who works as a tractor driver, was extremely sorry and ashamed.
She said he was a lonely and isolated man and added: ‘His best friend in his life was his mother. When she died, that’s when the drinking started.’
Barrister Jo Martin, defending Katie, said she now lived in Glasgow and suffers from multiple sclerosis. She said Katie had had a difficult upbringing.
Judge Robert Linford said to the pair: ‘You were both involved in an unlawful sexual relationship. Both knew that it was wrong in my assessment but none the less you did it.
‘Quite why it would be that the makers of a TV programme think there is money to be made from people such as you is entirely beyond me.
‘You, Mr Buscombe, are described as socially isolated and with your own problems, and you, Katie Buscombe, have medical and mental problems which are not your fault, but each of you would have known that what you did was not right.’