Reports: Australian arrested for alleged rape of daughter over 30 years, fathering 4 children

Reports: Australian raped daughter for 30 years

MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian man has been arrested on charges of raping his daughter for 30 years and fathering four children with her, media reports said Thursday.

Senior officials described the allegations as shocking but would not confirm the details because the case was before the courts. Police said they were not giving out any information because of a court suppression order.

The Herald Sun newspaper and the Australian Broadcasting Corp. said the man was accused of having raped his daughter since the 1970s, starting when she was 11 years old, and threatening her with violence against her mother. He was arrested in February after the woman approached police.

The man has denied raping his daughter, the reports said. Prosecutors will present DNA tests in court to show he is the father of his daughter’s children.

The case drew immediate comparisons with that of Josef Fritzl, an Austrian man who was convicted in March of holding his daughter captive for 24 years, repeatedly raping her and fathering seven children with her.

John Brumby, premier of Victoria state where the alleged abuse occurred, said he was aware that the allegations spanned three decades, but that he would not comment further because he did not want to prejudice the trial.

“Any crime of this type is one that is shocking and is personally repulsive to me and other Victorians,” Brumby said. “It’s a terrible case.”

The ABC said the suspect, in his 60s, will appear in court in November to face charges of rape, incest, indecent assault and common assault.

The man’s wife, who lived in the same home with her husband, daughter and grandchildren, told the Herald Sun newspaper that she was unaware of the alleged abuse.

All four children were born with health problems and one of them has died, the report said.

The daughter first told police about the alleged abuse in 2005, but no charges were filed because she said she feared for her safety and would not cooperate with police, the report said.