Police: Man fathered 9 with own daughters

SHEFFIELD, England, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- British prosecutors say a 56-year-old man raped his two daughters 25 times over a 27-year period, fathering nine children with them.

Officials say the Sheffield, England, man, described as a British Josef Fritzl after a similar notorious case of incest in Austria, would move the girls frequently from town to town so they wouldn't form any close friendships, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The case is being heard in Sheffield Crown Court where prosecutors said that beginning in 1980, the daughters endured several miscarriages and other of their pregnancies were terminated when tests showed abnormalities in the unborn children.

The Telegraph reported the man has denied two additional charges of indecent assault and one of rape, saying the alleged assaults did not start as early as his daughters have claimed.

Crown Prosecutor Nicholas Campbell told the court, "The seven surviving children have their own difficulties. Two are severely incapacitated and one of them has been recently diagnosed with a fatal condition."