Fritzl could face 3,000 counts of rape
Tuesday, 26 Aug 2008 11:24
Josef Fritzl could face up to 3,000 rapes charges when he faces trial
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Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man who admitted imprisoning his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathering six children with her, could face up to 3,000 rape charges when he faces trial.
Legal sources in Austria claim Mr Fritzl has admitted to sleeping with daughter Elisabeth "two or three times a week" during the time he kept her locked away from the outside world.
The 74-year-old could be in court as early as December, reports suggest.
Last week it was announced that Mr Fritzl's trial will be heard in private, with Austrian newspaper Kurier claiming it would prove too difficult to find enough jurors who had not already decided that he was guilty.
A few days ago Elisabeth rejected offers to provide her family with a new identity, instead opting to simply change her surname.
The Fritzl case came to light after Elisabeth's daughter Kerstin was hospitalised back in April, leading to authorities discovering the true nature of the situation at their Amstetten house.