German incest suspect's wife refuses to testify

BERLIN – The wife of a German man who admits fathering eight children with his stepdaughter is refusing to testify as a witness in her husband's trial on accusations of hundreds of cases of sexual and physical abuse.

German news agency DAPD reported the suspect's wife left the court room in Koblenz only two minutes after the hearing started on Wednesday.

The suspect, identified only as Detlef S., is accused of assaulting his daughter, now 18, as well as his twin stepdaughter and stepson, now 28, between 1987 and 2010. He is charged with 350 counts of sexual abuse and 35 other counts for allegedly forcing the two girls to have sex with other men for money.

The truck driver, who lived with the family in Fluterschen near Bonn, has partially admitted to some of the abuse. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.