A boy is said to have stabbed his father in the thigh twice with a hunting knife after the man allegedly raped and indecently assaulted him.
The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was granted bail in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday.
He faces multiple charges, including five counts of sexual intercourse without consent, as well as multiple charges of incest, and committing an act of indecency on a child.
The man has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Police documents tendered to the court allege he raped or indecently assaulted three of his children over a period spanning several years.
The man is also accused of raping his wife, at times with different items.
"Sometimes she would turn her head and cry," the documents state.
According to the documents, the man indecently assaulted his son, aged eight or nine, three times while the boy was "kicking and screaming" and "scared".
A few months after this, the father allegedly raped his son and threatened to kill him if he told anyone.
A week after the rape, the man is said to have held a hunting knife up to the boy's throat saying: "I will f---ing kill you."
The police documents claim the next day the boy, fearful of being sexually assaulted again, got the same hunting knife and stabbed his father twice in the thigh.
"If you try and do that again, it is not going to be fun for you," the son allegedly told his father.
The document also alleges the defendant touched the breasts and buttocks of two of his daughters on "too many occasions to count".
The man is said to have also indecently assaulted and raped one of his daughters while on a family holiday.
Police documents state the girl was aged 11 or 12, and after the alleged crimes the father said "if she told anyone he would hurt her".
The girl then "cried silently until she fell asleep".
In court on Thursday, the man's lawyer Michael Kukulies-Smith argued his client should be granted bail.
Mr Kukulies-Smith said the father had not been in contact with his children or wife for more than a year.
A prosecutor opposed bail, saying the man had "shown propensity for violence".
"[He] may attempt to engage in retribution ... given the threats that have been made in the past," the lawyer told the court.
The prosecutor claimed there was a strong case against the man with "contemporaneous evidence and a long history of complaints".
Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker granted the man bail, saying strict conditions would limit any risks.
The father is set to face court again in February 2024.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Canberra Rape Crisis Centre 6247 2525; Bravehearts 1800 272 831; Blue Knot Foundation 1300 657 380.
