Moe incest case

A 66-year-old Australian man in the town of Moe, Victoria raped his daughter almost every day for three decades and fathered four children by her. The case was likened to that of Josef Fritzl.

The man kept his daughter a virtual prisoner in her own home and sexually abused her from the age of 11. The woman finally reported the rapes to Victoria Police in 2007; police had known about the alleged abuse since 2005, when the woman first came forward, but could not act because she did not want to cooperate after her father threatened violence against her mother and siblings.

The Herald Sun reported that the family had been known to authorities for more than 30 years. Three of the man's children with his wife have died, and others have spent time in state care. The allegations first emerged in a report by News Limited, which said authorities had been warned of the man's activities years ago but had failed to investigate.

During the years of abuse, she gave birth to four of her father's children, each in major Melbourne hospitals; one child, a girl, died from severe developmental problems soon after birth, and the three surviving boys have serious health problems. None of the children have fathers listed on their birth certificates, raising concerns about why questions were not asked at the time. The victim's mother claims to have been unaware of any abuse, despite sharing a house with her daughter, husband and grandchildren until 2005.

The woman decided to make a statement to police in February 2007. She and her three surviving sons are being cared for by the authorities. The man was charged with 83 sexual abuse offences by police after DNA tests allegedly showed he was the father of her children.

He appeared in court in November 2009, where he pleaded guilty to 10 counts of incest, two counts of indecent assault of a girl under the age of 16, and one count of assault, and asked for the remaining 70 counts against him to be taken into consideration.

During his sentencing in February 2010, Judge Susan Pullen said:

"You defiled your daughter over many years on a regular basis. Your offending involved a gross breach of trust. To describe your treatment of your daughter as appalling is a gross understatement."

The man was sentenced to 22 years and five months imprisonment with a non-parole period of 18 years, and will be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for the rest of his life. The sentence is a Victorian record for incest.