Fritzl may be charged with slavery
Josef Fritzl imprisoned his daughter for 24 years under the family home
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Monday, 04, Aug 2008 10:15
Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man who imprisoned his daughter for 24 years, may be charged with slavery, reports claim.
It is understood that Austrian prosecutors are debating whether to charge the 73-year-old with slavery in an attempt to maximise his jail term.
Mr Fritzl has already admitted imprisoning his daughter Elisabeth for over two decades in a cellar he adapted under the family's home in Amstetten.
During those 24 years he forced her to give birth to seven children with him.
Three of the children were chosen to live with him and his wife Rosemaire, 68, while the other three stayed with their mother trapped underground.
Gerhard Sedlacek, the Austrian prosecutors' spokesman, said: "The content of the charges is has not yet been determined. It is expected that the charges will be completed by the end of September and the date for the trial could be set sometime in December."
Mr Fritzl faces a number of charges including rape, incarceration, incest and coercion as well as the manslaughter of the seventh child he fathered with Elisabeth.