A 58-year-old man in western France has pleaded guilty to a catalogue of depraved incestuous crimes, including fathering three children with his own daughter, in a case bearing grim echoes of Austrian monster Josef Fritzl.
Decades of Paternal Abuse Unveiled
The horrific situation in Brest came to light after the man's 11-year-old son bravely came forward to police. The young boy described years of systematic abuse that began with his now 33-year-old sister.
Prosecutors state the father allegedly drugged his daughter with anti-psychotic medication before raping her, forcing her to bear three children. One of those children is the 11-year-old boy who eventually reported the crimes.
The boy was also subjected to further abuse, being forced to watch pornography with his father and to have sex with his own mother. The man faces a litany of charges including incestuous rape of a minor, rape by administration of a substance, corruption of a minor, and habitual violence against a minor. He has been remanded in custody.
Charges and Aftermath for the Family
While the daughter is described as a primary 'victim' of her father's prolonged abuse, she also faces charges. Authorities have charged her with habitual violence against a minor under 15 and corruption of a minor, though she has not been arrested.
The three children at the heart of this case—the 11-year-old boy and his eight-year-old twin sisters—have been taken into foster care. They have been permitted to stay out of school temporarily as they begin to recover from their trauma.
Echoes of the 'Monster of Amstetten'
The case has drawn immediate and disturbing comparisons to that of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian incest criminal who imprisoned and raped his daughter, Elisabeth, for 24 years. In a recent development, Fritzl, now 90, was denied parole in October.
A court ruled the 'Monster of Amstetten' still suffers from violent delusions and remains too dangerous to release. Fritzl was jailed for life in 2009 after keeping his daughter in a soundproofed cellar, where he raped her thousands of times, fathering seven children. One infant died shortly after birth.
During his trial, Fritzl pleaded guilty to rape, false imprisonment, manslaughter by negligence, and incest. He meticulously prepared his underground prison and manipulated his family, convincing his wife their daughter had joined a cult.
Fritzl had a prior criminal history, including a 1967 conviction for breaking into a nurse's home and raping her at knifepoint. He served 12 months of an 18-month sentence for that attack and was a prime suspect in another attempted rape.
