A seven-year-old boy uncovered a shocking incestuous relationship between his stepfather and the boy’s half-sister, leading to arrests and court convictions.
Family Separation and Reunion
Andrew Butler, aged 47 at the time, separated from his wife Katrina in 1990 following allegations of violence toward her and their two children, including daughter Nicola Yates. Yates was only seven when Butler left their Birmingham home, and the pair had no contact until her twenties, when she located him online.
Initial Discovery in 2007
In 2007, Butler’s seven-year-old stepson walked in on the pair in bed together and immediately informed his mother. She alerted authorities, resulting in Butler receiving a four-month suspended sentence for incest. Yates also faced a community punishment order for the initial offense.
Continued Relationship and Arrest
Within a year of reconnecting, Yates moved in with Butler using the alias Andrew Bicknell to conceal their ties from her family. The relationship persisted from 2008 to 2010. In March 2010, Yates’ stepsister Natalie visited their Bordesley Green home and spotted explicit photos of the couple on Yates’ phone. Natalie captured images of the evidence and showed them to her parents, who identified Bicknell as Butler, Yates’ biological father.
Police arrested the pair in September 2010 after seizing love letters, cards, explicit photographs, and incriminating messages from their devices.
Court Sentencing in 2012
In July 2012, at Birmingham Crown Court, Butler and Yates, then 26, pleaded guilty to sexual relations with a relative. Butler received a 10-month prison term, while Yates got a 26-week suspended sentence.
Judge James Burbidge remarked, “There appears to have been a relationship that involved genuine affection, but it was also an illicit relationship, a relationship that is regarded as abhorrent to society at large.”
Prosecutor Madhu Rai noted that Yates had kept the relationship hidden post-initial convictions. The judge labeled Butler a “highly manipulative individual” and Yates as “very vulnerable” with a history of inappropriate relationships.
Defense Arguments
Butler’s barrister, Rob Cowley, argued, “This was not a relationship that involved any element of coercion, manipulation or abuse of power or authority.”
Yates’ representative, Liz D’Oliviera, explained that her client felt guilty for being denied contact with her father during childhood and desired a connection with him.
