German Father Who Slept With His Daughter 500 Times Gets 32 Months Jail Term

A German father who had sex with his daughter nearly 500 times and had three children with her was jailed for less than three years after a court declared he did not rape her.

A judge in the case of Adolf B, 69, stunned women's and child protection rights groups by declaring that his incestuous relationship with his daughter over 30 years was 'by agreement' - even though he first molested her when she was only 12.

He was accused of brutalizing his wife and children, stunning them into a long-term conspiracy of silence.

But the judge threw out the rape charge, saying there was insufficient evidence of violence to sustain the charges, and jailed him for just two years and eight months for incest.

Prosecutors at the court in Nuremberg had demanded a 14-year sentence for the ordeal he inflicted on his daughter Renate.

In the media he was called the 'German Fritzl' in reference to the Austrian rapist Josef Fritzl who imprisoned his daughter Elisabeth for 24 years and fathered six children with her.

Adolf B was charged with 497 rapes committed over 34 years until his arrest in March this year.

He could not be charged with statutory rape - under the age of consent - because it occurred more than 20 years ago.

His daughter, now 46, had three children by him, two of whom have since died.

'She liked it,' he said of his sexual relationship with her although Renate testified otherwise. She said he threatened to kill her if she told anyone about what happened between them.

She told the court; 'He said; "Tell a soul and I will kill you. No matter where you go I will find you and kill you".'

The German woman lived in the family home along with her mother and siblings in Willmersbach, a village near Nuremberg.

She spoke of constant beatings, with all members of the family subjected to a routine of aggression and fear.

'She had three sons by her father, one of whom died as a baby, another of whom died recently, while the third survived.'