Incest couple John and Jenny Deaves's first child died

* Father and daugher admit incestuous relationship
* Their first child died from congenital heart disease
* Ask for understanding and respect

THE ex-wife of a man in an incestuous relationship with his daughter has rubbished claims he had not seen his daughter for 30 years.

On March 20, John Deaves and his daughter Jenny were sentenced to a three-year good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to two counts of performing an act of .

The couple now have a nine-month-old daughter.

Mr Deaves' ex-wife Dorothy, 69, who he married long after splitting with Jenny's mother, told ninemsn that when she married John Deaves in 1984, the then 15-year-old Jenny stayed with them for a week.

Jenny stayed with them four times before their marriage broke down in 2000 after the father and daughter took a trip to Dubbo together, she said.

"It was hard to face for a long time," Mrs Deaves said.

"It's one of those things everyone's so upset about."

The first child of the father and daughter died from congenital heart disease days after birth, court documents have shown.

Their second child, nine-month-old daughter Celeste, appeared fit and healthy on television last night.

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Mr Millsteed said at the time he took concerns about the health of children born from incestuous relationships into consideration while deciding a sentence.

“Relevant factors include: the need to prevent the high risk of congenital defects of children born of incestuous relationships; and to prevent children, who are brought up in a family unit founded on an incestuous relationship, suffering psychological harm and social stigmatisation,” he said.

'Agreed not to have sex'

Mr Millsteed also said the couple had agreed to not have sex with each other again.

“You both say that you accept your sexual relationship must end, but hope that you will be able to continue to support one another and the children.”

The Mount Gambier pair reunited 30 years after Mr Deaves separated from Jenny's mother.

Jenny was 31 and just two weeks after meeting, father and daughter had sex.

"John and I are in this relationship as consenting adults," Mrs Deaves told the Nine Network's 60 Minutes program last night.

"We are just asking for a little bit of respect and understanding."

Second child appears healthy

Their second child, nine-month-old daughter Celeste, appeared fit and healthy on television last night.

Mrs Deaves said soon after reuniting with her father she began to see him as a man first and her father second.

"I was looking at him, sort of going, oh, he's not too bad," she said.

"Like you might look at a man across the bar at a nightclub."

Mrs Deaves brought two children, Samantha and Alex, into the relationship after splitting from her former partner.

Mr Deaves admitted that he "initially" thought having sex with his daughter was wrong.

"Emotions take over, as people no doubt realise, there are times during your life where emotions do rule the heart, it rules the head," he said.

Dad knew it was illegal

"I knew it was illegal, of course I knew it was illegal but you know, so what."

Mrs Deaves said the physical relationship with her father was like "a sexual relationship with any other man".

For Mr Deaves the sexual relationship was "absolutely fantastic".

A US psychologist told 60 Minutes the Deaves's relationship was an example of "Genetic Sexual Attraction".

He said the phenomenon was not rare, and society would be surprised at how prevalent it was.

The Deaves's relationship is deemed by Australian authorities as incestuous and therefore illegal.
A South Australian police media spokesman said "the couple was being monitored".

With AAP