Child Abuse

A man who fathered nine children with two of his daughters, having groomed them for sex from the age of eight, has appeared in court charged with rape and indecent assault.

Sheffield Crown Court heard that the 56-year-old spent 30 years repeatedly raping his daughters, getting them pregnant a total of 19 times.

The man, who cannot be named to protect his victims, admitted nine rapes and two indecent assaults against the elder daughter, and 16 rapes and two indecent assaults against her sister.

Two of the babies died at birth, with the others being lost either through miscarriages or abortions.

Prosecutor Nicholas Campbell QC said: "These charges represent a course of conduct and these pleas of guilty embrace the causing of 19 pregnancies - seven to his older daughter, and 12 to his younger daughter.

"From these pregnancies there are seven children alive today. Two children died on the day they were born, there were many miscarriages, and several abortions when clear disabilities were found upon screening.

"The seven surviving children each have their own difficulties - two of them are very severely incapacitated, and one has been diagnosed with a fatal condition."

A psychiatrist's report showed that the defendant was not suffering from any mental illness. He was remanded in custody until a sentencing hearing next month.

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Sallie Booth from law firm Irwin Mitchell said: "It is incredible that this man was able to continue this horrific abuse for over twenty years, and that family, friends and the medical and educational authorities did not appear to identify what was going on. This man's inexcusable behaviour will have been at great cost to his daughters and to their children. While he will no doubt be sent to prison, I hope that the authorities will step in and provide the fullest support to the rest of the family."

We are committed to pursuing child abuse cases to the best possible outcome, without causing any additional psychological trauma to those affected. See our Child Abuse Claims page for more information or call 0370 150 100 to talk confidentially to someone about making a claim.