The case against a Porirua mother and father accused of sexually assaulting some of their eight children and making some eat bugs has collapsed because the children's evidence has been ruled too unreliable.
In the High Court at Wellington on Thursday, Justice Alan Mackenzie discharged the couple on counts of sexually assaulting their children, Fairfax reports.
Ten days after the trial started, the father was also cleared of assault charges that alleged he made four of his children eat bugs and tied them to a clothesline.
The mother's 56-year-old cousin had two sexual assault charges and an assault charge against him dropped.
However, the mother, 42, and the father, 55, still face eight cruelty charges, which they deny.
The children were removed from their Porirua home in 2010.
NZN
