Dad may get 10 years for cellar prison

AMSTETTEN, Austria, July 9 (UPI) -- The Austrian man who has admitted keeping his daughter locked in the cellar for 24 years could be sentenced to as little as 10 years.

Josef Fritzl is presumed to be the father of his daughter's seven children.

Fritzl faces a long list of charges, including rape and the manslaughter of one child who died shortly after birth, the British newspaper, The Telegraph, reports. But prosecutors say the most serious charge that is likely to be proved is incarcerating his daughter.

Austrian law does not provide for consecutive sentences so the maximum he faces is for the most serious crime prosecutors can prove.

Prosecutors say that the only proof of rape is testimony from the daughter.

"Manslaughter will be very difficult to prove as there is no forensic or any other kind of evidence available since the suspected crime happened many years ago," a spokesman said. "Such charges would require evidence that the suspect acted with premeditation and that he knew there was danger of the newborn dying after birth."