Another Josef Fritzl-like case haunts Britain

A 56-year old man who repeatedly raped his two daughters for almost three decades, fathering nine children with them, was finally sentenced to 25 life sentences.

This case looks eerily similar to the Josef Fritzl case. A 56-year-old man, who was not named in court in order to protect the two victims, repeatedly raped his two daugthers since 1979. The sisters got pregnant 19 times, and neither health workers nor social services or anyone else in the family noticed the abuse for almost three decades. They failed to notice why the two sisters were getting pregnant often and didn’t uncover the identity of the father of their children. The two girls gave birth to nine children in total, had five miscarriages, and five abortions. Judge Alan Goldsack QC, who is presiding over the case, was shocked to hear how medical authorities and social workers failed to prevent abuse. He ordered an independent review of the case. The abuse began in 1979 when the youngest of the sisters was 8 years old, and it lasted until February of this year when they sought help from social services. The sisters told the court their father was very abusive and if they tried to avoid his advances they were severely beaten. Police investigated in 1997 after the brother of the two sisters gave them some hearsay evidence, but no actions were taken. One of the sisters called the social services' ChildLine a year after, but they told her that all the children will be taken away from her. So, the sister didn’t press the case any further. The father hails from Sheffield but kept moving the family every six months to avoid suspicion. He locked the girls in their bedrooms and didn’t allow them to talk with anyone. The mother of the girls was unaware of the situation it seems, as the sisters didn’t confide in her. The mother had moved out with her son and was living separately. The sisters’ lawyer, James Baird, is very upset with the social services’ responses. He told the court:

"What is clear from the case is that the complainants and the children have attended many, many hospital appointments, but none of the medical experts have sought to probe these circumstances and accepted the complainants case that the father of their children was not their father."

Judge Goldsack gave the final verdict and sentenced the man to 25 life sentences to be served concurrently. He will serve a minimum of 19 and half years in prison. He ruled:

"I have little doubt that many members of the public hearing the facts of this case will consider either you should never be released from prison or only when you are old and infirm. I agree with that view."

The sisters are happy with the verdict and that their father cannot hurt them anymore, but they are not sure if their trauma will ever end.