Outrage: Josef Fritzl will face 10 years for crimes against Elisabeth, her children
Posted by Sable on July 10, 2008
From the Telegraph, UK:
Fritzl, 73, has already confessed to imprisoning his daughter Elisabeth, 42, in the cellar in his home in Amstetten, Austria, and fathering her seven children.
He is facing potential charges of rape, incarceration, incest and manslaughter, as one of the children died shortly after birth in 1997 and Fritzl burned his body in an incinerator.
However, unlike in Britain and America, the Austrian penal code does not allow for cumulated convictions, meaning Fritzl will only serve the punishment for the offence that carries the longest prison sentence.
And according to prosecutors, manslaughter and the rape charges will be difficult to prove due to the elapse of time and lack of evidence.
The only charge Fritzl is certain to face is incarceration, for having kept his daughter and their children in the dank cellar for 24 years, an offence that can only be sentenced with 10 years in prison in Austria.
A spokesman for the prosecution said: “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.
“Such charges would require evidence that the suspect acted with premeditation and that he knew there was danger of the newborn dying after birth.”
“The charges of rape will also be difficult to prove, due to the absence of any objective evidence and would therefore probably only be based on the statement of the victim, who has not yet given evidence to the prosecutors.”
Thomas Grow said
The Austrian penal code is a joke compared to that found in the U.S.A.Only ten years?You can say,”It doesn’t really matter,he’ll be dead before 2009 anyway(bad heart,they say)”.Yeah, but,legal presidence is made.This type of crap could be repeated with other innocent lives.It is Elisabeth Fritzl,seeing this, who suffers,whose suffering has not stopped,because of this man,whose suffering WILL not stop until long past he is dead.It is my hope that she can forgive him before she meets her maker.Am I aware of how difficult that will be?Yes,and I have been burdened with that grim message for quite some time now.I hope she gets it. I love you,in Christ,Elisabeth.-Tom
mersha said
This is all the law system of austrias fault and rosmaries as well. Firstly if they jailed him for the first rape conviction for 30 years elisabeth would have been safe. I mean come one two years is ridiculous and its the same old story. Everytime u hear some paedophile did something terrible like the cellar case in austria and belgium a few years ago then u hear but wait this guy had a previous conviction for a similar crime and was only given a light slap on the wrist the first time when are the authoritis gonna learn the only thing this teaches paedophiles is to do it so they won’t get caught the next time, I mean there are other tragic cases out there and each time one hears that the person had a record. 2ndly they allowed a rapist to adopt kids of the same gender he raped. Thirdly why clear his record. I mean what purpose did that serve except to help him commit future crimes unhindered. the mom should also be charged as an accomplice for living with a convicted rapist and not protecting her kids.