'Italy's Fritzl' raped daughter for 25 years

Italian police said yesterday they have arrested a man for forcing his daughter to have sex with him for 25 years, prompting comparisons with the high-profile case of Austria's Josef Fritzl.

The 64-year-old junk dealer had allegedly raped his daughter, now 34, regularly since she was nine years old, deputy prosecutor Pietro Forno of the northern city of Turin said.

He was arrested a few days ago, while his son, 41, has been in police custody since last month accused of raping his four daughters, Mr Forno said.

Both the father and the son have strongly denied the allegations against them, the Ansa news agency reported.

Erroneous press reports, giving the older man's victim the pseudonym Laura, earlier said he had imprisoned his daughter.

Mr Fritzl received a life sentence last week for the repeated rape of his daughter over 24 years during which he kept her in an underground hideaway and fathered seven children with her.

Mr Forno said Laura "was strictly speaking free, though she did nothing without her father, who completely dominated her psychologically."

Laura was the eldest of 10 children, Mr Forno said, adding that "according to a family rule, the eldest daughter was reserved" for the father, a native of southern Italy.

"The young woman is suffering from personality disorders because of the prolonged incestuous situation and mistreatment," he added.

"A psychiatric evaluation has determined that the situation was one of very serious distress."