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Man fathered 11 with daughter
A Colombian man has been accused of sexually abusing his daughter from a young age and fathering eight children with her in the latest of a series of incest cases that have appalled the world.
Arcebio Alvarez, 58, abused his daughter from the age of 10 after she was left alone in his care when her mother died, the 35-year-old woman has told police. He fathered three boys and five girls with her, aged from 1 to 19. All the children have been removed from the family home and are now in the care of the state.
Mr Alvarez denies the claims, saying the woman is not his biological daughter.
Alba Nidia Alvarez, from the central Colombian town of Mariquita, said that her mother died when she was 5, leaving her at her father's mercy. He began abusing her five years later, she told the El Tiempo newspaper. She said that an evangelical Christian pastor had convinced her to come forward about the alleged abuse.
"I took this decision according to the will of God, thanks to a pastor who prayed for me many times," she told the newspaper. "That is what gave me the strength."
However, her father told a court he had adopted Alba Nidia, and they had had consensual sex.
"I adopted her," he said at a court in Tolima province. "We agreed to have a romantic relationship because we really loved each other. But she was not my own child."
Elvira Forero, head of Colombia's child welfare agency, called the case "an intolerable crime".
The story has horrified Colombians, and caused an outcry in a country where a lack of child protection has put thousands of children vulnerable to sexual abuse.
It comes days after Italian police arrested a Turin man for abusing his daughter and encouraging his son to follow suit, and as, in Austria, Josef Fritzl begins a life sentence for imprisoning and raping his daughter for 24 years, fathering seven children with her.
Child welfare advocates in Colombia have called for a sentence of life in prison should Mr Alvarez be convicted.
Colombian man accused of imprisoning his daughter and fathering eight children with her has denied charges of rape and incest.
Arcedio Alvarez, 58, insists his daughter was adopted and therefore he has committed no crime.
He is accused of raping his daughter since the age of nine, after her mother died.
Alba Nidia Alvarez, 35, from the central town of Mariquita, said an evangelical Christian pastor had convinced her to come forward about the alleged abuse.
The accused told a different story when he went before a judge on Saturday afternoon (local time) in Tolima province.
"I adopted her," he said.
"We agreed to have a romantic relationship because we really loved each other. But she was not my own child."
Alba Nidia's mother died when she was 5, leaving her under the care of Alvarez, who has been branded "the monster of Mariquita" by the local press.
The eight children are between the ages of 1 and 19.
Their children are undergoing tests amid allegations that the girls have also undergone sexual abuse from an early age, not just from their grandfather Alvarez, but at his instigation from their elder brothers as well.
Elvira Forero, head of Colombia's child welfare agency, called the case "an intolerable crime."
The case recalls that of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man convicted earlier this month for confining and raping his daughter for 24 years.
And on Saturday, a 63-year-old man in Turin, Italy, was arrested for sequestering his daughter and forcing her to have sex with him for 25 years.
The man's son was also charged for allegedly having sex with his own daughters, who range in age from six to 20.
Arcebio Alvarez, 58, abused his daughter from the age of 10 after she was left alone in his care when her mother died, the 35-year-old woman has told police. He fathered three boys and five girls with her, aged from 1 to 19. All the children have been removed from the family home and are now in the care of the state.
Mr Alvarez denies the claims, saying the woman is not his biological daughter.
Alba Nidia Alvarez, from the central Colombian town of Mariquita, said that her mother died when she was 5, leaving her at her father's mercy. He began abusing her five years later, she told the El Tiempo newspaper. She said that an evangelical Christian pastor had convinced her to come forward about the alleged abuse.
"I took this decision according to the will of God, thanks to a pastor who prayed for me many times," she told the newspaper. "That is what gave me the strength."
However, her father told a court he had adopted Alba Nidia, and they had had consensual sex.
"I adopted her," he said at a court in Tolima province. "We agreed to have a romantic relationship because we really loved each other. But she was not my own child."
Elvira Forero, head of Colombia's child welfare agency, called the case "an intolerable crime".
The story has horrified Colombians, and caused an outcry in a country where a lack of child protection has put thousands of children vulnerable to sexual abuse.
It comes days after Italian police arrested a Turin man for abusing his daughter and encouraging his son to follow suit, and as, in Austria, Josef Fritzl begins a life sentence for imprisoning and raping his daughter for 24 years, fathering seven children with her.
Child welfare advocates in Colombia have called for a sentence of life in prison should Mr Alvarez be convicted.
Colombian man accused of imprisoning his daughter and fathering eight children with her has denied charges of rape and incest.
Arcedio Alvarez, 58, insists his daughter was adopted and therefore he has committed no crime.
He is accused of raping his daughter since the age of nine, after her mother died.
Alba Nidia Alvarez, 35, from the central town of Mariquita, said an evangelical Christian pastor had convinced her to come forward about the alleged abuse.
The accused told a different story when he went before a judge on Saturday afternoon (local time) in Tolima province.
"I adopted her," he said.
"We agreed to have a romantic relationship because we really loved each other. But she was not my own child."
Alba Nidia's mother died when she was 5, leaving her under the care of Alvarez, who has been branded "the monster of Mariquita" by the local press.
The eight children are between the ages of 1 and 19.
Their children are undergoing tests amid allegations that the girls have also undergone sexual abuse from an early age, not just from their grandfather Alvarez, but at his instigation from their elder brothers as well.
Elvira Forero, head of Colombia's child welfare agency, called the case "an intolerable crime."
The case recalls that of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man convicted earlier this month for confining and raping his daughter for 24 years.
And on Saturday, a 63-year-old man in Turin, Italy, was arrested for sequestering his daughter and forcing her to have sex with him for 25 years.
The man's son was also charged for allegedly having sex with his own daughters, who range in age from six to 20.
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