A German man admitted to fathering seven children with his step-daughter but denied charges that he sexually abused her for more than two decades, his attorney said in court today.
The 48-year-old man, identified by the court as Detlef S, also stands accused of abusing his own daughter and stepson, and forcing both daughters into prostitution.
His trial, which became a media sensation after the allegations were made public last week, began today in Koblenz, western Germany.
The defendant has not yet entered a plea. If found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
DNA tests conducted by investigators indicated the man is the father of at least seven children by his step-daughter. Another child, whom he may have fathered, is believed to have died months after birth.
The crimes are alleged to have been committed in the family home in Fluterschen, a village of some 750 people in western Germany. He is believed to abused the three between 1987 and 2010 and has been held by police since August.
Stepson Bjoern B is a co-plaintiff in the case with both sisters and appeared in court to "give them strength", he told reporters.
"Of course I'm scared, but I can say to myself that he is where he belongs," Bjoern B said. "He can't do anything more to me even though I'm still very afraid."
German media reports said the stepdaughter and stepson are twins and now 28, while the daughter is 18 now and was allegedly first abused at the age of 12.
German media have called Detlef S "the German Fritzl" in reference to the Austrian man who kidnapped and imprisoned his daughter and fathered seven children with her. Fritzl was sentenced to life in prison in 2009.
Reuters