16th Feb 11
Man accused of 20 years of child abuse
by Katie Naylor
A German man has admitted to fathering seven of his stepdaughter’s children. However, he has denied repeatedly raping her and two of his children over a 20-year period. The 48-year-old is only known as Detlef S due to Germany’s strict privacy laws.
Detlef is being charged with 350 counts of sexual offences between autumn 1987 and last summer. The man’s stepson left the court room in tears as the 21-page indictment was read this morning. If the accused is found guilty he may faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
DNA tests have already confirmed the he is the father of his stepdaughter’s seven children. According to the court an eighth child, believed to have died as a baby, was also his. Detlef’s lawyer said his client acknowledged fathering the children but denies abusing them.
According to the indictment the father began abusing his twin stepchildren, now 28, when they were four years old in 1987. When his biological daughter was 12 he raped her weekly, telling her it was normal for fathers to do so. While on her period he would force her to perform oral sex on him.
In 1995, Detlef began selling his daughter and stepdaughter for sex. Two of his friends are to stand trial for sexual offences against minors. Alongside sexual abuse, the father has also been accused of violently assaulting his family for years.
Detlef had lived with his wife and 15 children until his arrest. Four of the children came from his wife’s first marriage and another four were their own. His crimes came to light after his daughter found a letter from his stepdaughter describing the life he had forced on her.
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