The 56-year-old father in the so-called Rebild case (Rebild-sagen), one of the most extreme cases of child sexual abuse in Denmark’s history, had his sentence changed by the Western High Court from indefinite detention to 12 years in prison.
When found guilty by an Aalborg court in March of the long-term sexual abuse of nine children – seven of his own – the father was sentenced to indefinite detention, the punishment sought by the prosecutor.
The man’s appeal went to the Western High Court, where today his sentence was changed to 12 years in prison. It was the longest possible fixed sentence possible, and the stiffest punishment of its kind when it comes to sexual abuses cases in Denmark.
The man was arrested in 2010 on charges of forced incest, sadism and the sexual abuse.
He abused one of his sons, now in his twenties, since 1994, when the child was four. The boy suffered attacks for the following decade, often having his hands bounds and mouth sealed with tape.
Another son, now in his late teens, was allegedly abused between the ages of six and eleven. He and three of his brothers, now in their early twenties and late teens, were also forced to rape their sister, who is now in her late teens.
That daughter was abused from the age of five and was subjected to periods of daily abuse, threats, rape and sexual assault over the course of the subsequent decade. The father also bound her legs and suspended her on hooks before sexually abusing her.
Her younger sister was subjected to sexual abuse beginning when she was three years old, and two other girls not related to the man, both now in their mid-teens, were also abused by him.
The case has received widespread national attention, especially after it was revealed that Rebild Council failed to forcibly remove the children from the home despite repeated alarms from concerned teachers and daycare providers.
The man has been ordered to pay his victims a total of 915,000 kroner in compensation. If he cannot afford to pay, the victims will receive compensation from the state.
