A 56-year-old father was today found guilty of the long-term sexual abuse of nine children – seven of his own – in the so-called Rebild case (Rebild-sagen). It was also determined in court that the man repeatedly forced four of his sons to repeatedly abuse their sister – the man’s eldest daughter – who is now 15 years old. Besides his own children, the man also sexually abused two girls who were friends of one of his daughters.

The father was sentenced by an Aalborg court to indefinite detention – the punishment sought by Anette Abildgaard, the prosecutor in the case. The man must also pay his victims a total of 915,000 kroner in compensation.

With the judgement, one of the largest child sex abuse cases in Danish history comes to a close. Over a 16-year period, the convicted man carried out the abuse on seven of his ten children. The family moved repeatedly, primarily in northern Jutland, before settling down in recent years in Rebild. Rebild Council has been heavily criticised for its handling of the case.

Despite repeated alarm bells from concerned teachers and daycare providers, the council failed to forcibly remove the children from the home.

The father has appealed against the judgment, and the ban on publicly releasing the man’s name will be in place until the appeal is concluded.