"American Fritzl" dad charged with rape, abuse, holding wife and 7 children captive for up to 15 years (Madison Township, Ohio)

Police say dad JEFFREY YORK may have kept his family prisoners within their home for up to 15 years. He is also charged with repeatedly raping at least one of his daughters

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/68311,news-comment,news-politics,american-fritzl-jeffrey-york-charged-with-rape-and-child-abuse

‘American Fritzl’ charged with rape and child abuse

Jeffrey York may have held his wife and seven children captive for as long as 15 years
By Jonathan Harwood
LAST UPDATED 5:09 PM, SEPTEMBER 7, 2010

A father from the US, already dubbed the American Fritzl, has been accused of a reign of terror over his family in which he repeatedly raped one of his daughters, kept another locked in a room no bigger than a wardrobe for a year and held his wife and other children prisoner in their own home.

The claims against Jeffrey York were made after his wife Danita, who lived with him and their seven children in Madison Township, Ohio, called the police in December last year. She alleged that York had raped one of the children and that she and the rest of the family had been physically and mentally abused for years.

When officers arrived at the home she and her children, five daughters and two sons aged between three months and 19-years-old, were taken to a women's refuge. Since then counsellors have spent several months interviewing them to build up a picture of how York treated them.

Now 47-year-old York has been charged with 19 offences ranging from rape to gross sexual conduct and child abuse.

"The family appears to have been cut off from the world completely," said Detective Dan Boerner. "They had no real support system and no way for the mother to leave."

He added that the family had no friends and that the "abuse was constant". He claimed that when York left the house he would always take one of the children with him as security to prevent the others from trying to leave.

Police say that one of the daughters, who is under 13, had been repeatedly raped and that another was kept in a storage room for almost a year and was only occasionally allowed out to go to the bathroom.

It is believed the family may have been held captive for as long as 15 years.

The allegations of abuse have drawn comparisons with the case of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man who kept his daughter locked in a dungeon for 24 years and continuously sexually abused her.

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