Incest and abuse

A German court on Tuesday jailed a former truck driver for over 14 years for sexually abusing his daughter, stepson, and his stepdaughter, with whom he also fathered seven children.

"He is sentenced to 14-and-a-half years in prison," the presiding judge, Winfried Hetger, said in the Koblenz courtroom. "After that, he will be placed in preventive detention."

This ruling was precisely the sentence requested by the prosecution, defense lawyers had suggested nine-and-a-half years in prison.

The man, Detlef S., made a tearful and full confession in court on Monday, shortly before the sentencing, though the prosecution dismissed his statements as a "tactical move."

Prior to his last-minute full confession, Detlef S. had admitted only to abusing his daughter and to fathering seven children with his step-daughter.

The 48-year-old eventually admitted to some 160 counts of sexually abusing or raping his daughter, stepson and stepdaughter. He began to abuse his daughter, now 18, when she was nine years old. He also admitted to forcing his daughter and step-daughter to engage in prostitution.

Prosecutors described the cases on which Detlef S. was tried, committed between 1987 and 2010, as "the tip of the iceberg."

Author: Mark Hallam (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Michael Lawton