Austrian man 'locked up daughters for 40 years'
An Austrian man is being investigated after locking up his two daughters for 41 years and sexually abusing them in a case with chilling parallels to that of fellow countryman Josef Fritzl.
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The house of a man who is suspected of having imprisoned, beaten and sexually abused his two daughters over a 40-year period is pictured in St. Peter am Hart in Upper Austria province Photo: REUTERS
By Fiona Govan, and Sarah Titterton
11:12PM BST 25 Aug 2011
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The women, who are now 45 and 53 years old, and are both reported to be mentally ill, were kept trapped within the family home in the village of St Peter Am Hart, near the Bavarian border, and forbidden all contact with the outside world for the last four decades.
Police believe the sisters, who were kept in the kitchen and made to sleep on a bench, were repeatedly beaten and sexually abused by their father since 1970 and that their mother, who died three years ago had been aware of the abuse but too scared to report him.
Local media reported that the women had escaped from their father's custody after overpowering the 80 year-old during an attempted rape in May.
The elder daughter reportedly pushed her father to the floor during the attack when he banged his head and was unable to get up.
A social worker found him there two days later and he was transferred to a care home but it took some weeks for the allegations to come to light.
The sisters are both now in care and are said to be "severely psychologically traumatised" by their ordeal.
"Their accusations are believable," police commander Martin Pumberger, investigating the case, told state broadcaster ORF. "They are relieved that they are now able to talk about their decades-long martyrdom," he said.
Neither the father nor his alleged victims have been named by police.
Alois Lissl, a senior state police official, said the man is suspected of assault, torture or neglect of defenceless individuals, threat to life or physical condition, rape and other sex crimes. He denies all charges.
The case echoes that of fellow Austrian Fritzl, who was jailed for life for the rape, incest, enslavement, and false imprisonment of his daughter Elisabeth over 24 years in Amstetten.
Fritzl had kept his daughter confined to a specially adapted cellar and fathered seven children with her.
Natascha Kampusch, now 23, was also kidnapped and kept against her will by another Austrian, Wolfgang Priklopil, for more than eight years.
She managed to escape the cellar where she was being held in Vienna in 2006. Her kidnapper then killed himself.
An Austrian man is being investigated after locking up his two daughters for 41 years and sexually abusing them in a case with chilling parallels to that of fellow countryman Josef Fritzl.
Image 1 of 2
The house of a man who is suspected of having imprisoned, beaten and sexually abused his two daughters over a 40-year period is pictured in St. Peter am Hart in Upper Austria province Photo: REUTERS
By Fiona Govan, and Sarah Titterton
11:12PM BST 25 Aug 2011
=================================================
The women, who are now 45 and 53 years old, and are both reported to be mentally ill, were kept trapped within the family home in the village of St Peter Am Hart, near the Bavarian border, and forbidden all contact with the outside world for the last four decades.
Police believe the sisters, who were kept in the kitchen and made to sleep on a bench, were repeatedly beaten and sexually abused by their father since 1970 and that their mother, who died three years ago had been aware of the abuse but too scared to report him.
Local media reported that the women had escaped from their father's custody after overpowering the 80 year-old during an attempted rape in May.
The elder daughter reportedly pushed her father to the floor during the attack when he banged his head and was unable to get up.
A social worker found him there two days later and he was transferred to a care home but it took some weeks for the allegations to come to light.
The sisters are both now in care and are said to be "severely psychologically traumatised" by their ordeal.
"Their accusations are believable," police commander Martin Pumberger, investigating the case, told state broadcaster ORF. "They are relieved that they are now able to talk about their decades-long martyrdom," he said.
Neither the father nor his alleged victims have been named by police.
Alois Lissl, a senior state police official, said the man is suspected of assault, torture or neglect of defenceless individuals, threat to life or physical condition, rape and other sex crimes. He denies all charges.
The case echoes that of fellow Austrian Fritzl, who was jailed for life for the rape, incest, enslavement, and false imprisonment of his daughter Elisabeth over 24 years in Amstetten.
Fritzl had kept his daughter confined to a specially adapted cellar and fathered seven children with her.
Natascha Kampusch, now 23, was also kidnapped and kept against her will by another Austrian, Wolfgang Priklopil, for more than eight years.
She managed to escape the cellar where she was being held in Vienna in 2006. Her kidnapper then killed himself.
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telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/austria/8723400/Austrian-man-locked-up-daughters-for-40-years.html
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