In a case that has shocked the country, a German man admitted Tuesday to fathering seven children with his stepdaughter, but denied raping her and beating his stepson and biological daughter.

The 48-year-old, identified as Detlef S., stands accused of raping and brutally abusing the stepdaughter and of abusing the stepson and biological daughter. He faces 350 counts of sexual assault and grievous sexual assault of minors over a period of more than two decades.

According to the official charge sheet, the man is accused of first sexually abusing his biological daughter, now in her 20s, when she was nine years old and of abusing her from the age of 12.

Public prosecutor Thorsten Kahl said Detlef S. used to beat the three children, and he is also accused of prostituting the daughter and stepdaughter for financial gain.

"I hope he gets the right sentence and that he can never hurt anyone again," his stepdaughter told reporters as the trial opened.

'The German Fritzl'

In a statement read by his lawyer to a court in the western city of Koblenz, Detlef S. admitted to being the father of the stepdaughter's children, but "denied the charges made against him."

Detlef S. faces 15 years behind bars if found guilty. A verdict is expected on February 25.

The German media have likened the case to that of Austrian Josef Fritzl, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 for holding his daughter in a cramped dungeon for 24 years as a sex slave and fathering seven children with her.

Author: Darren Mara (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler