http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/17/australia-fritzl-rape
Australian Fritzl' accused of raping daughter and fathering four children
The allegations cover a 30-year period stretching back to when the victim was 11
Video no longer available
An Australian man has been charged with raping his daughter over a 30-year period and is accused of fathering her four children.
In a case which appears similar to that of Austria's Josef Fritzl, who had seven children with his daughter, the alleged victim's mother, who shared a house with her daughter, husband and grandchildren until 2005, said she was unaware of any abuse.
The rapes allegedly began in the 1970s when the victim was about 11 and continued until 2007, two years after she first sought help from the police.
The woman first approached the police about the alleged abuse in 2005 but no charges were laid. She was reportedly too afraid of her father to co-operate with an investigation, but welfare advocates attacked the police for failing to pursue the case.
Yet, according to the mother, the family had been in contact with welfare workers for more than 30 years.
It was alleged that all four children were born with birth defects in Melbourne hospitals and none had a father listed on their birth certificates. One of the children died from severe developmental problems soon after birth.
The mother said her daughter had been vague whenever she asked about the identity of the father.
"She used to say something about going out to nightclubs and meeting a fella, but then she would clam up," the mother said.
While the mother said her husband was moody and abusive she said she never suspected that he was sexually assaulting her daughter.
"We lived in a big house, so I wouldn't have known," she said. "He had a very sharp tongue. He was a drinker. One day she just up and left and I haven't seen her for years. The first I knew of all this is when they came and arrested (my husband)," the mother said.
The man has denied raping his daughter.
Australian Fritzl' accused of raping daughter and fathering four children
The allegations cover a 30-year period stretching back to when the victim was 11
Video no longer available
An Australian man has been charged with raping his daughter over a 30-year period and is accused of fathering her four children.
In a case which appears similar to that of Austria's Josef Fritzl, who had seven children with his daughter, the alleged victim's mother, who shared a house with her daughter, husband and grandchildren until 2005, said she was unaware of any abuse.
The rapes allegedly began in the 1970s when the victim was about 11 and continued until 2007, two years after she first sought help from the police.
The woman first approached the police about the alleged abuse in 2005 but no charges were laid. She was reportedly too afraid of her father to co-operate with an investigation, but welfare advocates attacked the police for failing to pursue the case.
Yet, according to the mother, the family had been in contact with welfare workers for more than 30 years.
It was alleged that all four children were born with birth defects in Melbourne hospitals and none had a father listed on their birth certificates. One of the children died from severe developmental problems soon after birth.
The mother said her daughter had been vague whenever she asked about the identity of the father.
"She used to say something about going out to nightclubs and meeting a fella, but then she would clam up," the mother said.
While the mother said her husband was moody and abusive she said she never suspected that he was sexually assaulting her daughter.
"We lived in a big house, so I wouldn't have known," she said. "He had a very sharp tongue. He was a drinker. One day she just up and left and I haven't seen her for years. The first I knew of all this is when they came and arrested (my husband)," the mother said.
The man has denied raping his daughter.
