Father is charged with rape

NUREMBERG prosecutors say they have charged a 69-year-old man with 497 counts of rape over allegations that he abused his daughter for 34 years and fathered three sons by her.

Prosecutor Antje Gabriels-Gorsolke said the case came to light recently when the 46-year-old victim was sentenced to probation for an unrelated crime and confided in her probation officer.

Two of the sons died in childhood. Gabriels-Gorsolke says the abuse started when the victim was about 12 and the attacks took place primarily in the family home near Nuremberg.