American 'Fritzl' repeatedly raped one daughter, locked another in tiny room

London, Sep 7 (ANI): In a case reminiscent of Austrian incest father Josef Fritzl, an American father has been accused of raping one of his daughters repeatedly and keeping another one locked in a tiny room for over a year.

According to reports, Jeffrey York ruled his home with fear and stopped his wife and seven children from seeing any friends and family.

However, his cruel deeds were exposed in December after York's wife Danita told police he had raped one of their daughters at their home in Madison Township, Ohio.

She told authorities that they were all physically and mentally abused for years.

When police arrived at the home, she told them that she and the seven children wanted to leave.

The children, two boys and five girls, range in age from 3 months to 19 years old.

York has now been charged with 19 offences ranging from rape to gross sexual conduct and child abuse.

His arrest has echoes of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian father who kept his daughter Elisabeth locked in an hidden room for years and repeatedly raped her.

Shocked U.S. investigators claimed that one of the girls had been kept locked in a room no bigger than a wardrobe for a year.

The Ledge Road, Madison Township, Ohio home where Jeffrey York allegedly kept his family isolated and abused them

Her sisters told investigators that she was only allowed out to use the toilet and had little access to food or clothing.

"Imagine an 8x10 bedroom being cut down into thirds with two-thirds being storage, one-third being made available for living space," the Daily Mail quoted Detective Dan Boerner as saying.

Detectives said they found that one of the girls, aged under 13, had been repeatedly raped.

The family were taken to a shelter for abused women where trained counsellors were able to find out the details of the horrific living conditions allegedly imposed by 47-year-old York.

"The family appears to have been cut off from the world completely," said Boerner.

York has denied all charges but is being held in jail on 160,00 pound bond. (ANI)