Man raped daughter, locked up another in room for a year

LONDON - A man in the US repeatedly raped one of his daughters, who was less than 13 years old, and locked up another in a room no bigger than a wardrobe for more than a year, it was reported here Tuesday.

The case is similar to that of Josef Fritzl, an Austrian father who kept his daughter locked in a room for years and repeatedly raped her.

Daily Mail reported that Jeffrey York not only ruled his home with fear, he prevented his wife and seven children from meeting friends and family.

The alleged abuse came to light in December last year after York’s wife Danita told police that he had raped one of their daughters at their home in Madison Township in Ohio.

She told investigators that she and her children - two boys and five girls who were aged three months to 19 years - wanted to leave.

York has been charged with 19 offences ranging from rape to gross sexual conduct and child abuse.

Sleuths said that one of the man’s daughters had been locked in a room no bigger than a wardrobe for a year. The girl was only permitted to use the toilet and had little access to food or clothing, the media report said.

“Imagine an 8×10 bedroom being cut down into thirds with two-thirds being storage, one-third being made available for living space.

“This went on for a year where this child was locked in the room, periodically let out to use the restroom, but in general, meals were brought to this child. Access to clothing, the restroom and everything was restricted by York,” Detective Dan Boerner was quoted as saying.

York’s family is now staying at a shelter for abused women where counsellors were able to get more details of the terrible living conditions.

Boerner said: “The family appears to have been cut off from the world completely… It’s not a cult, but they had no real support system and no way for the mother to leave.

“There were no friends to speak of. The abuse was constant. When the defendant would leave the house, he would always take one of the kids with him. There would always be that fear of the ‘what if’.”