The Josef Fritzl Trial - Day 3 - Guilty!

"I recognize that I am guilty of all the charges presented," he said. "I regret what I've done." With those words, Josef Fritzl ended any further reason to continue with his trial. He uttered those words in front of  judge Andrea Humer at the beginning of the third day of his trial. Catch the story from the beginning in this 5-part video called The Josef Fritzl Story and read about developments in the case since being arrested and imprisoned on The Josef Fritzl Page.

Asked what had made him change his mind so suddenly, and prompted him to admit to the charges of murder and slavery that he had previously rejected, Fritzl said: "Because of the video testimony of my daughter."

Under questioning by judge Andrea Humer with regards to the murder charge, Fritzl admitted that he was present when the twins were born and confessed he knew Michael had breathing problems. Baby Michael lived for 66 hours and Judge Humer told Fritzl that was more than enough time to see there was a severe health problem and seek medical help.

"I don't know why I did not help. I was hoping he would get through it," Fritzl told the hushed courtroom at Sankt Poelten, Austria. "I should have done something. I simply failed to do so. I was of the opinion the little one would survive."

Before pleading guilty to all six charges against him: rape, deprivation of liberty, incest, coercion, slavery and murder Josef Fritzl did not even bother to inform his lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, but he did request to see a psychiatrist after leaving court the evening before.

"He asked to see a psychiatrist afterwards, so crushed was he. The testimony which he saw for the first time had a profoundly devastating effect on him and led to the change of direction in this trial."

Rudolf Mayer's client had not informed him in advance of his decision to plead guilty, he said:

"I was indeed surprised, not least because someone with such a personality disorder as he has - which involves keeping up appearances and giving the impression that he's the one with the power - finds it difficult to drop his trousers in front of the world."

Until his confession, Fritzl had stubbornly refused to admit that he had caused Elisabeth much suffering, arguing instead that he had saved her from a life of ruin and debauchery when he lured her into the cellar at the age of 18.

Fritzl will face a sentence of between 20 years and life imprisonment. But it is possible that his confession will lead to a reduced sentence. "It all depends on whether the jury and the judges take the confession to be a mitigating circumstance," said the vice-president of the court, Franz Cutka. The verdict and sentencing are expected in tomorrow's session.

Fritzl is on a suicide watch, meaning at the end of each day's court sessions guards remove his tie and belt to ensure he cannot use them to harm himself. There were unconfirmed reports that Elisabeth was in court and that Fritzl made eye contact with her the day before he changed his plea. The pair had not met since Fritzl's reign of terror was exposed and he was arrested last April at his home in Amstetten.

The Josef Fritzl Trial - Day Two

Josef Fritzl's trial is in its second day. On the first day he pleaded guilty to: Incest, Coercion, Rape and Deprivation of liberty. He pleaded not guilty to: Murder and Enslavement. See The Josef Fritzl Trial - Day One for all the details. Catch the story from the beginning in this 5-part video called The Josef Fritzl Story and read about developments in the case since being arrested and imprisoned on The Josef Fritzl Page.

The second day of the trial that has been dubbed Austria's Trial of the Century began about 9:00 am with Josef Fritzl once again entering court holding a blue folder in front of his face, and holding it up for 10 minutes until cameramen were ordered to leave the courtroom. This time however a photographer was able to take some still pictures of him during his appearance.

This day was not about Josef Fritzl; it was about Elisabeth. It was about how she suffered at the hands of the man who held her captive for 24 years during which she bore him 7 children. It was the day that Josef Fritzl came face to face with the crimes he had committed. It was the day that Elisabeth Fritzl became an avenging angel. During 11 hours of recorded testimony she told the court and the world who her father really was - a rapist, a murderer and a monster who allowed one of their children, Michael, to die without trying to help.

For a man who had been accustomed to being in control, it was his day of reckoning. Fritzl watched the tape, that could very well send him to prison for life, with full attention. As Elisabeth recounted her litany of humiliations, the tape was stopped and Fritzl was cross-questioned. The main aim of the proceedings was to address the most serious charge against Fritzl, that of murdering one of the seven babies fathered in the mouldy fetid cellar of his sprawling house in Amstetten.

Michael, the first born twin, was in trouble. "The accused could see that Michael's situation was getting worse," says the charge sheet, "Fritzl was fully aware of this. Instead of calling for emergency medical care for the newborn and securing help for the baby, Fritzl simply told Elisabeth 'what will be, will be'".

The baby died two days later. Fritzl is said to have burned the body in a stove in the cellar. Fritzl denies being in the cellar at the time of death, and considers himself not guilty of "murder by neglect". Elisabeth's version — which forms the basis of the indictment — was clearly essential.

The taped testimonial provided the basic material for the indictment which describes a history of sexual abuse from the age of 11. Elisabeth recorded her testimony last summer, three months after her release from the cellar of the family home. The memories of her ordeal were still fresh and state prosecutor, Christiane Burkheiser, remembers the occasion — the taping was held over several days, in the presence of psychiatrists and Fritzl's defense lawyer Rudolf Mayer — as being particularly grueling.

"This was much more emotionally difficult than questioning Mr Fritzl," said the 33-year-old state prosecutor in an interview.

The taped testimony had been introduced to spare Elisabeth the need to be in the same room as her father, she vows that she never wants to see him again. She tells how she had to give in to her father's daily demands for violent sex because she knew he had the power of life and death over her. She described how her father not only raped her thousands of times but humiliated her by forcing her to re-enact scenes from pornographic films he made her watch.

The sexual abuse often took place in front of the three children who grew up in the cellar. She described how Fritzl would bring boxes of pornographic videos into the cellar, where he had set up a TV and video recorder, then order his daughter to re-enact scenes with him. Elisabeth gave her evidence looking straight into a camera with no-one else in the room, while lawyers asked her questions from neighboring rooms.

In addition to her testimony, another recording was made by her brother, Harald, in whom she was said to confide. His testimony was also played for the court. He was the only other family member who was willing to testify against Fritzl. The jury also listened to a statement from a neonatal specialist who testified on whether Michael's death was preventable.

Josef Fritzl has been put on a suicide watch. He is being accompanied by a doctor to whom he had access during breaks in the trial, part of routine psychological and "suicide prevention measures", said Erich Huber-Guensthofer, deputy director of Sankt Poelten prison, where the defendant is being held. The prosecution has requested that Fritzl be placed in a psychiatric institution after the trial.

Prior to these alleged crimes, Fritzl had been arrested three times in connection with sex offenses — he was never charged in the cases of attempted rape and public exposure, but he served a sentence for a rape conviction in the late 1960s. As well as the possible life sentence for murder, Fritzl faces 20 years behind bars if found guilty of enslavement, up to 15 for a rape conviction, and one year for an incest conviction. The trial continues tomorrow.

The Josef Fritzl Trial - Day One

The trial of Josef Fritzl, 73, - who for 24 years incarcerated and raped his own daughter who bore him 7 children, 6 of whom survived - has begun. Catch the story from the beginning in this 5-part video called The Josef Fritzl Story and read about developments in the case since being arrested and imprisoned on The Josef Fritzl Page.

On the first day of the trial news organizations from around the world descended on the Austrian town of St. Poelten to witness what some have called Austria's trial of the century. Cameras were only allowed in the courtroom for the beginning of the proceedings.

Josef Fritzl is charged with 6 crimes: rape, deprivation of liberty, incest, coercion, slavery and murder. In court he pleaded guilty to 4 of those charges and not guilty on the other two:

Murder - Not Guilty
Enslavement - Not Guilty
Deprivation of liberty - Guilty
Incest - Guilty
Coercion - Guilty
Rape - Partially Guilty

On the rape charge he entered a plea of partially guilty, which is permissible. Fritzl could plead guilty to the rape charge in general but dispute the prosecution’s claims as to the degree of violence he used. Austrian law differentiates between the severity of rapes and levels of coercion, and takes into account the degree of violence used and the consequences for the victim. His lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, is expected to clarify Fritzl's plea on this charge.

 

The trial began with the prosecution pressing for life imprisonment in an institution for the criminally insane. Chief prosecutor Christiane Burkhauser described Fritzl's crimes as inconceivable.  He "showed no sign of regret or any consciousness of wrongdoing," she said.

In her opening statement, prosecutor Christiane Burkheiser described how, on 29 August 1984, Fritzl sedated his then 18-year-old daughter by putting a cloth over her nose and mouth and dragged her into the cellar. He then secured a chain around her stomach so she had no chance to escape. The next day he raped her. As she bore his children over the next 24 years, he repeatedly raped her in front of them, the court heard. She went towards the eight jurors with a box of musty objects and scraps of cloth, from the cellar where Elisabeth and her children had lived to give them an idea of the conditions in which they were locked up. "Smell these things," she urged the jury, who flinched back in their seats.

"It was his playground. He used her like a toy," said Burkheiser.

She told the jury to imagine living underground in a damp space just 11 metres square (118 sq ft) – the same size as the jury bench – kitted out with just "a wash basin, a sleeping corner, no warm water, no shower, no heating, and worst of all, no daylight" she said, adding it was also "incredibly humid" and the air was moldy and stale.

"They had to crawl on their knees in order to get around the dungeon," she told the court. "It was damp and mouldy. The dampness crept into their backs and into their bones." Only after nine years was the cellar expanded.

At other times, she said, Fritzl punished his daughter by shutting off the electricity _ plunging the dungeon cell into darkness for days at a time. "Josef Fritzl used his daughter like his property," Burkheiser said.

Christiane Burkheiser, who is 32 and conducting her first major case since being made chief prosecutor, said that he had treated his daughter as a toy - an allegation linked to the enslavement charge, which Fritzl denies.

The defense lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, appealed to the jury to be objective and not be swayed by emotions. He insisted Fritzl was "not a monster". Before the trial got under way, Mayer said his client was nervous. "He told me, 'I'm scared, Mr Mayer'."

Addressing the jury, Mayer said: "You need to keep emotions out of this. Even with someone like him who has been described as a monster, it's irrelevant if he is an unsympathetic character or a monster."

Mayer described how Fritzl had managed to care for "two families" – "you cannot call someone who does that a monster". He added: "If you only want your daughter for sex you don't want children. You would let them starve."

As if to try to explain his actions Fritzl told the court that he had had a very difficult childhood. He told the three judges and eight jurors that, at the age of 12, he had made it clear to his own mother that he would not tolerate being beaten any longer and would defend himself.

"From that point on, I was Satan personified for her," he said. She never showed him any affection and his father appeared only "rarely and sporadically", he said.

In the afternoon session the court was said to have begun watching an 11-hour video testimony in which Elisabeth recounted her ordeal. The video was stopped at points for Fritzl to respond, said Franz Cutka, a court spokesman. The court will continue to watch it tomorrow.

Four expert witnesses are ready to give evidence if necessary: a doctor who specializes in newborns, a psychiatrist, an electrical engineer and a surveyor who inspected the dungeon.

Neither Fritzl's wife, Rosemarie, nor any of his other children will give evidence at the trial because they have refused to do so.

Central to the trial is the ­accusation that Fritzl murdered, through neglect, a baby twin called Michael born to his daughter in the cellar in 1996. The boy had breathing difficulties and died when he was three days old. Prosecutors will argue that Fritzl could have saved his life if he had got medical help. Instead the baby died in his mother's arms and Fritzl disposed of the corpse in an incinerator in his back yard.

If convicted of murder Fritzl faces life imprisonment. If not, the maximum sentence he could expect to receive would be 15 years. According to legal experts he could potentially be out of prison in six and a half years, having already served a year in prison.

Children Raping Children

"11-Year-Old Girl Charged with Rape", was the headline of a story I came across at the  Zanesville Times Recorder. It was the story of this pre-teen girl who was charged with three counts of rape. According to Detective Randy Ritchason the girl had some type of sexual contact with three other children - two boys and a girl -all under the age of 10. She was charged in Muskingum County Juvenile Court.

"I believe it's the youngest perpetrator we've had," Ritchason said. "We've had young teens before, but she is about the youngest I've ever dealt with."

Apparently, this is a very rare case but there seems to be an increasing number of kids who are the perpetrators of sex-based crimes, usually committed against other children. Rhonda Hinkle, a supervisor with Muskingum County Children's Services, thinks that there are societal forces at work that encourage young kids to engage in sexual activities.

"I think a lot of it has to do with society today," Hinkle said. "We have so many blended families today, we have all the technology that children at young ages are allowed access to and we have entirely different sets of values and issues then ever before."

There is much evidence to support her suspicions: from sexy billboards, to scantly clad women selling everything from underwear to cars, to increasing sexual content being shown on TV, to the latest celebrity scandal, to Presidential infidelity on the evening news, to adult (and child) pornographic websites, its seems that society is obsessed with sex and the kids are absorbing all of it.

Rhonda Hinkle said her office investigates about 10 to 15 cases a month where a young person is the perpetrator of a sex abuse. The crimes range from rape, gross sexual imposition, sexual imposition, pornography and even "sexting" - forwarding lewd images on cell phones. Hinkle said she has seen children as young as 10 or 11 having consensual sex.

It makes one wonder if kids are not being pressured in adult activities by their environment and perceived expectations of what it means to be a grown-up. After all we, the adults, set the examples for our kids to follow. It is doubtful whether a pre-pubescent child would have sexual urges, so where does this kind of behavior come from?

"These kids are watching this stuff on television, they see it on the computers, they are seeing their parent or guardians in relationships where more physical or sexual stuff is being shown then used to be or even should be," Ritchason said. "Young kids are being exposed to things today through technology and lifestyles that they really shouldn't be."

The sad thing is that in many cases the young perpetrators and the victims either live in the same household and are related or are in close contact with each other. John Shaffer, court director for the Muskingum County Juvenile Court system, who has been involved in the court system for 27 years said that most of the offenders he has seen in the court system have lower IQs. and their victims usually are younger children in the same home.

"It's not that they're out stalking younger children," Shaffer said. "They're already in a situation where they find children they can take advantage of."

"One of the biggest problems is not knowing where your child is and who your child is with," Hinkle said. "Parents need to know that child's friends and their parents. Don't send your child on a sleepover to someone's home thinking that the same rules you have is going to apply in that household, too."

There are signs to look out for in cases of suspected abuse: Bedwetting, withdrawing, sleeping in their clothes, making sure a belt is tightly secure on their clothes while in bed, sleeping with lights on when they've been sleeping just fine with the lights off are just a few.

It should be noted however that observing some of these behaviors in children does not necessarily mean that they are being abused. They are nevertheless signs that all may not be well and some form of attention or intervention may be needed.

Rapist Teachers Worried about Child Victim

Two teachers - Linda Richins Nef, 46, and Valynne Asay Bowers, 39 - at Bountiful Jr High School in Utah face first-degree felony charges of rape and sodomy on a child. They are both accused of having sex with a student of the same school, beginning when he was 13 years old. Both teachers have hired lawyers and both are expected to undergo psychological evaluations.

It was Linda Nef who came forward - after learning of Bowers involvement with the youth - to report her behavior to the police. According to her lawyer, Sean Druyon, Nef is sorry for what she's done. Druyon is also recommending that the boy, who has emotional problems, receive counseling.

"She wants to come clean. That's paramount," he said. "But she's also concerned about the boy and his safety. We expect that he's going to need therapy. He's going to need counseling for this and other issues in his life. She wants to take responsibility and pay whatever the court finds appropriate. She's embarrassed her family, her children; she's embarrassed her school, and she feels terrible."

Nef began her relationship with the boy in Nov. 2007 and it continued through July 2008 (earlier reports said Dec. 2008). Her lawyer said Nef had wanted to come forward much sooner but was reluctant to do so because the boy had threatened to harm himself. "When she came in to see me, she wasn't sure if she could protect the child and confess," Sean Druyon said.

According Nef, the relationship with the boy started after he had left her class. "Nothing inappropriate happened" while he was her student. After leaving her class the boy continued to seek her out and she began helping him with some "emotional issues" he was going through. There were after-hours phone calls, visits between classes, meetings after hours and text messages. It grew erotic and led to sex.

"Her role went from former schoolteacher trying to help him, and one thing led to another"

Nef says she wanted to end the relationship sooner but was concerned about the boy's emotional state. It wasn't until after the relationship was finally over that Nef learned about the other teacher, Valynne Bowers. That was when she decided to contact her lawyer and go to the police.

Valynne Bowers' attorney, Rich Gallegos, said he will ask for a psycho-sexual evaluation for his client but said she was not a predator.

"I think there's some psychological issues," he said. "The kid is clearly a victim, but I think these ladies were somewhat vulnerable. When I talked to her, she had a lot of remorse and felt for the victim in the case," he said. "Realizing that she's the adult and she's taking responsibility for her actions, but all of her concerns are for the kid."

The boy is still with his parents but state child welfare workers are also involved with the case.

"We want to get all the information," said Sean Druyon. "When you look at this at first blush, here's a 40-something-year-old woman, here's a 13-year-old, almost 14-year-old boy, 'What was she thinking? She must be a pedophile.' That's not always the case."

In an e-mail sent to parents, the school said it was "a very difficult situation that we are working as a faculty, staff and student body to get through." Counselors were made available to students to help them get through the shock of the scandal.

"We are in the healing process and hope to learn and improve from those mistakes that were made," the e-mail said, expressing thanks for phone calls of support and sending out a plea for questions and concerns to administrators.

Nevertheless, the Davis School District has no plans to change its policies and ban text messaging between teachers and students. But Carol Lear at the State Office of Education has said maybe these policies should be looked at again.

"There is something more intimate about texting than there is about phone calls and certainly than e-mail," she said. "It likely is not appropriate for teachers and students to text each other, especially on a regular basis," she added.

Authorities say other cases of teacher misconduct may have started with personal phone calls, texts and e-mails.

"These younger people that I'm talking to who are student teaching or about to student teach, are saying 'I would never want a student to text me. First of all, I wouldn't want them to know my phone number. I also just think that's something you reserve; it's very casual. You reserve it for a close friend,'" Lear said.

There isn't a rule that specifically bans a teacher from texting a student, but the Utah State Office of Education has rules on teacher/student interactions.

The rules include:

• Teachers shall not make inappropriate contact in any communication-written, verbal, or electronic-with minor, student, or colleague, regardless of age or location.


• Teachers shall not solicit, encourage or consummate an inappropriate relationship, written, verbal, or physical, with a student or minor.


• Teachers shall not participate in sexual, physical, or emotional harassment or any combination toward any public school-age student or colleague, nor knowingly allow harassment toward students or colleagues.


• Teachers shall not accept or give gifts to students that would suggest or further an inappropriate relationship.