Man Admits Abusing Daughter in German Incest Case

KOBLENZ, Germany - The defense attorney for a German man in a 20-year incest trial says his client now admits he sexually abused his own daughter.

Lawyer Thomas Dueber spoke to the Koblenz court Wednesday on behalf of his client Detlef S., whose full name was not given in accordance with German privacy laws.

Germany's DAPD news agency reported the statement came after the daughter, now 18, had testified in tears about years of abuse.

Detlef S. is also charged with sexually assaulting his stepson and stepdaughter. He admitted Tuesday to fathering eight children -- one of whom died in infancy -- with his stepdaughter. But he denied the charges -- 350 counts of sexual abuse and 35 counts for allegedly forcing the two girls to have sex with other men for money.

He faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.

The defendant began abusing his twin stepchildren, who are now 28, in 1987 when they were around four years old, according to the indictment. He first assaulted his own daughter, who is now 18, on her 12th birthday once all the children from her party had gone home, prosecutors told the court earlier this week.

Detlef S., a truck driver who lived with the family in the small town of Fluterschen, near Bonn, did not address the court himself. He is also accused of forcing his daughter and stepdaughter to have sex with other men for money. Two of those men also face charges and will be tried separately.

The public was cleared from the courtroom as the stepdaughter took the stand to testify in the afternoon.

The suspect has been in custody since August after his daughter came forward to authorities.

A verdict could be handed down as early as the end of this month.

Germany's Bild newspaper has called the suspect the "German Fritzl" -- a reference to Europe's most infamous case of incest. Austrian Josef Fritzl was found guilty in 2009 of locking his daughter in a dungeon for 24 years and fathering seven children with her. He is serving a life sentence.