A 58-year-old man in Brest, France, has been accused of fathering three children with his own daughter in a case prosecutors have compared to the infamous Austrian criminal Josef Fritzl.
The man admitted he had been “in a relationship” for several years with his 33-year-old daughter, according to French outlet Ouest-France. Authorities allege he drugged her with anti-psychotic medication and r@ped her, forcing her to bear three children.
Investigators say the case came to light after comments from the man’s 11-year-old son revealed the incestuous nature of the family’s relationships. The boy reportedly told authorities he had been forced to have s3x with his own mother.
“The report described an incestuous atmosphere, violence and deviance within the family,” the Brest public prosecutor said.
The 11-year-old boy and his two younger siblings, twin sisters aged eight, have since been placed in foster care by child protection services.
The father has been charged with aggravated incestuous rape, rape with administration of a substance to the victim without her knowledge, and corruption of a minor. He has been placed in pre-trial detention.
Prosecutors described the daughter, who is also the mother of the three children, as a victim but confirmed she has been taken into custody. She faces charges of habitual violence against a minor under 15 and corruption of a minor under 15, though she has not been placed under arrest.
The case has drawn comparisons to Josef Fritzl, who was jailed in 2009 for imprisoning his daughter Elisabeth in a cellar for 24 years and fathering seven children with her. Fritzl’s crimes shocked the world after they came to light in 2008 when one of the children became seriously ill and required hospital treatment.
