Dungeon dad could be sued by family as early as next week

London, May 25 : Austrian incest fiend Josef Fritzl can be sued for damages by his family as early as next week after authorities determine the state of his assets.

Lawyers for the Fritzls are currently working with authorities to estimate the value of Fritzl's property and are trying to determine if he has money put aside on his various accounts.

The probe into his financial affairs should be completed by next week and the family could than take legal action.

Christoph Herbst, the lawyer for the family, claimed that a damages lawsuit against Fritzl now appeared "necessary", as the support they would be receiving from the state would not be enough to secure their future.

"It is quite difficult to understand Mr Fritzl's financial affairs as he alone was in charge of his business. He owns several properties in and around Amstetten but there are mortgages on some of them amounting to several millions. We are now trying to determine whether the sale of these properties would leave some profit after covering the debts," the Telegraph quoted Herbst, as saying.

Herbst, however, added that the research into Fritzl's assets was complex as he conducted his businesses discretely and without any outside involvement and he also could not be questioned to that extent at the moment.

"If he was able to keep such a dark secret from the world, he could also have been able to keep his financial dealings confidential," Herbs said.

Fritzl, 73, an engineer and property developer, has confessed to imprisoning his daughter Elisabeth, 42, in a purpose-built dungeon beneath his house in the town of Amstetten for 24 years, fathering seven children as a result of repeated sexual abuse.

ANI