Investigation launched after 'British Josef Fritzl’ jailed
An investigation has been launched after a 56-year-old man was given 25 life sentences for repeatedly raping his two daughters and fathering nine of his own grandchildren.
By Jon SwaineLast Updated: 8:58AM GMT 26 Nov 2008
The failure of police and social services in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire to prevent the Sheffield businessman’s attacks, despite having contact with his family, will be examined.
The man, who can not be named to protect his victims’ identities, began sexually abusing his daughters when they were between eight and 10 years old. During a campaign of abuse lasting more than 25 years, between them they went through 19 pregnancies.
Sheffield Crown Court heard that if they refused their father’s advances, they were badly beaten, being punched, kicked and held up to a gas fire. Their father will serve a minimum term of 19 and a half years in prison.
Sentencing the man, Judge Alan Goldsack QC said: “I can say that in nearly 40 years of dealing with criminal cases and 14 as a family judge the combination of aggravating circumstances here is the worst I have come across.”
“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.”
“A criminal justice system which does not reflect the views of the silent majority of the public does not deserve to have its confidence.
“For centuries the maximum sentence available for rape has been life imprisonment. That is the sentence I pass, concurrent on each count of rape, with no separate penalty for the indecent assaults.”
Sheffield City Council has launched an inquiry into the case, taking in examinations of the roles of South Yorkshire Police, Lincolnshire County Council and Lincolnshire Police.
Both councils have confirmed that the family was known to them, and the court heard that there had been several contacts made with authorities that could have seen alarm raised.
Lincolnshire social services had contact when the daughters were young, while in 1997 the county’s police investigated a claim of incest made by their brother, but no action was taken. South Yorkshire services again became involved with the family when they moved back in 2004, but nothing was done until the victims came forward.
Simon Torr, Chief Superintendent of South Yorkshire Police, defended the force’s actions. He said “This has been a thorough, robust, timely and professional investigation from the moment that the victims first disclosed the abuse.”
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said he "can't imagine a better definition of being evil" than the case of a father who repeatedly raped his two daughters, making them pregnant 19 times over a period spanning more than quarter of a century.
Mr Clegg, who is MP for Sheffield Hallam, told BBC Radio FiveLive: "I can't imagine a better definition of being evil than torturing your own children in his abusive way.
"Some of the details are just heart-rending."
The case has raised comparisons with the Austrian rapist Josef Fritzl, who kept his daughter locked in a basement for 24 years as he fathered seven children with her.
In a statement, the man’s daughters said: “His detention in prison brings us only the knowledge that he cannot physically touch us again. The suffering he has caused will continue for many years and we must now concentrate our thoughts on finding the strength to rebuild our lives.”
Telegraph.co.uk
