Court: German man fathered 7 children with stepdaughter

A 48-year-old German suspected of fathering at least seven children with his stepdaughter goes on trial next week over allegations he abused both her and his daughter for more than 20 years and forced them into prostitution, an official said Thursday.

The man, identified only as Detlef S. in line with German privacy rules, is charged with sexually abusing minors in his care in a town near Bonn between 1987 and 2010, and with facilitating sexual acts with minors, Koblenz court spokesman Alexander Walter said.

The suspect is accused of abusing his daughter and stepdaughter himself, and of forcing both to have sex with other men for money. Two of those men also face charges and will be tried separately, Walter said.

"He is accused of grave sexual abuse of minors," he said.

Detlef S. has been in custody since August after his daughter came forward to authorities, Walter said. The case was first reported by a local newspaper Thursday and the court spokesman said it was not made public before in a bid to protect the victims.

DNA samples confirmed he fathered seven of his stepdaughter's children. An eighth child passed away before DNA tests could be done, Walter said.

"I have no information as to how this child died," he added, without elaborating.

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Walter would not give any details on any of the children or other aspects of the suspect's life.

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The German newspaper Bild reported that Detlef S. was a truck driver who lived with the family in the small town of Fluterschen, near Bonn. It said his daughter is now 18 years old and his stepdaughter is 28.

The daughter's attorney, Barbara Hellwig, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

In Europe's most infamous case of incest, Austrian Josef Fritzl was found guilty in 2009 of locking his daughter in a dungeon for 24 years and fathering seven children with her. He is serving a life sentence.