Two Bethel residents confirmed by DNA as father and daughter will face a hearing December 21 at Danbury Superior Court in a case that has seemingly grown more complicated with time.
In the meantime, the case has drawn national and international attention. The story appeared in the New York Daily News last week, then spread across the world, from The Times of India to London's Daily Mail. In Singapore, news site Asia One headlined the story, "US Porn Star Has Child With Dad," using a photo of the two from a Facebook account.
Police report George Sayers, 46, and his daughter Tiffany Hartford, 23, were arrested in Bethel on December 3. The case began when a woman, whose name was stricken from court records, told Bethel police she had been in a relationship with Hartford that began when she (the woman) was "16 or 17" and Hartford was 23. According to the woman, Sayers videotaped sexual encounters between the two and sold them as pornographic material -- "$40.00 for the videos and $5.00 each for pictures," according to reports.
Court records had originally been sealed shortly after release, but were reopened after the complainant's name was removed from documents. The records follow police's investigation and interviews with the family.
According to court documents, Sayers and Hartford -- who both worked at area pizza restaurants -- identified at times as father and daughter, but told the woman they were husband and wife. Police interviewed the family at their home, allegedly shared by 10 relatives. According to reports, a relative allegedly told them, "Tiffany is his girlfriend, but we also think that she is his daughter." Relatives also told police the two have a child together, according to documents.
When police asked Tiffany herself who George Sayers was to her, according to reports, she answered, "boyfriend." After police asked if George was also her father, reports say, "She paused and replied she did not know."
At the Bethel Police Department, police asked Sayers the same questions, say reports. At first, he described Hartford as "a friend" and said he didn't believe she was his daughter, but that it was possible he was the father of her son. He allegedly said he "chose to have sexual relations with her despite not knowing for sure whether she was his daughter or not because he 'loved her.'"
According to the report, Sayers listed himself as producer on the videos, which billed Hartford as "Tiffany Love," and hoped to make Hartford a "pornography star." Police say they followed the trail of the photos and videos across several friends, and finally arrested Hartford and Sayers.
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