Mongelli case

Michele Mongelli (born 1945) is a man from Turin, Italy, who was arrested on March 27, 2009, for allegedly sexually abusing his daughter over 25 years. His son Giuseppe (born 1968) was also arrested on the allegation of abusing his sister and his own four daughters. Because of the similarities, this case has been compared to the Fritzl case in Austria and the Sheffield incest case in Britain.

The 34-year-old daughter was given the pseudonym of Laura by the Italian press and other media. The victims had been kept in conditions of slavery and mistreatment. Laura is the eldest of nine children. She and her four nieces are being given psychiatric help.

Laura was forced to live in a dark room with no electricity since she was nine years old. She had little education over the 25 years she was held captive. The only time she was allowed out of the room she was kept in was when her father took her out.

At one point she was able to escape and go to the police. At that point her father convinced authorities that she was lying. She was questioned by psychologists and they agreed with her father about her condition.

Before she was rescued authorities acting on a tip planted listening devices in the family home and car. They heard talk of what was happening in the home.

Pietro Forno, who was the prosecutor leading the case, said the following:

"I have dealt with many incest cases but this is the worst that I have seen because it lasted for 25 years and also because the main victim is 34-years-old. I don't want to blame the psychologists who were relied on in 1994 but it's clear that the signs were there and not acted upon at the time when clearly they should have been.

However when acted upon again the interceptions and secret recordings proved vital in this case and they make for shocking listening as the abuse can quite clearly be heard. There was a syndrome in this case where the father believed it was his right to abuse his daughter and he then passed this onto his son who abused his sister and his own children.

Some of the officers involved were particularly affected and these are investigators who have been dealing with incest cases for years."