The victims were barred from having any social contacts |
Austria has
been rocked by a new incest scandal as a father allegedly imprisoned and raped
his two daughters for more than 40 years. The abuse ended only in 2011 when the
victims fought back.
Austrian
police have arrested a man suspected of sexually abusing his two daughters for
more than 40 years between 1970 and March 2011.
The now
80-year old man allegedly kept the two women locked up in a small room with
only a narrow wooden bench to sleep on.
"The
accused repeatedly threatened to kill them and threatened them with
weapons," the local police department said in a statement.
He also
prevented them from having "any social contact" outside the home.
The victims
are now 53 and 45 years old and according to media reports are mentally
disabled. The mother who died in 2008 was also regularly abused by her husband.
Too
intimidated to flee
"They
were evidently locked up in their own house, hardly ventured out into the
open," police chief Alois Lissl told Austrian television.
"They
received (outside) care but were apparently so intimidated that they kept quiet
about these acts their entire life."
The case
came to the attention of the authorities when the women escaped after the
father tried to rape the elder daughter and was pushed back.
He fell and
injured himself so he could not get up anymore. The two women refused to help
him but called a social worker instead, who then reported the abuse to the authorities.
The man was
arrested on suspicion of assault, duress, rape, abuse and neglect of minors or
defenseless persons among other offences. The suspect is in hospital and denies
all charges.
Reminiscent
of Fritzl case
In an earlier incest case in Austria, Josef Fritzl held abused his daughter for 24 years |
The
allegations eerily evoke the case of an earlier Austrian incest case. Josef
Fritzl imprisoned his daughter in a cellar prison for 24 years, repeatedly
raped her and fathered seven children with her - one of whom died.
He was
found to have caused the death of the newborn by failing to seek medical help
despite knowing the child was in danger of dying.
In March
2009, Fritzl was found unanimously guilty of murder through negligence, incest,
rape, enslavement, coercion, and forced imprisonment.
He was
sentenced to life imprisonment.
Author:
Andreas Illmer (AP, AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Rob Turner
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