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| Colombia shocked by incest case | Colombia shocked by incest case |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| A Colombian man has appeared in court accused of imprisoning his daughter and fathering 11 children with her. | |
| Arcedio Alvarez is said to have abused his daughter, now in her 30s, since she was nine years old. | |
| The case has shocked Colombia, and the 59-year-old needed police and army protection for his court appearance. | |
| Mr Alvarez, who the press have dubbed the "monster of Mariquita" after the area he comes from, denies incest and rape, saying his daughter was adopted. | Mr Alvarez, who the press have dubbed the "monster of Mariquita" after the area he comes from, denies incest and rape, saying his daughter was adopted. |
| "We agreed to have a romantic relationship because we really loved each other. But she was not my own child," he told the court in the central Tolima province. | "We agreed to have a romantic relationship because we really loved each other. But she was not my own child," he told the court in the central Tolima province. |
| Sometimes I would ask him [why we were doing it] and he would say it was God's will Arcedio Alvarez's daughter | |
| It is not clear whether his claim is true, or whether it would affect the charges he faces, but the woman says she always saw him as her father. | It is not clear whether his claim is true, or whether it would affect the charges he faces, but the woman says she always saw him as her father. |
| "I always respected him as my father and he is my father," she said. | "I always respected him as my father and he is my father," she said. |
| "He never spoke about [incest], about why we were doing it. Sometimes I would ask him and he would say it was God's will." | "He never spoke about [incest], about why we were doing it. Sometimes I would ask him and he would say it was God's will." |
| The woman told police how her mother died when she was five years old, leaving her in the care of Mr Alvarez. | The woman told police how her mother died when she was five years old, leaving her in the care of Mr Alvarez. |
| She says she was raped repeatedly and had 11 children - three of whom died. | She says she was raped repeatedly and had 11 children - three of whom died. |
| The woman and her children are now under state protection. | The woman and her children are now under state protection. |
| Child welfare campaigners have called for a life sentence if he is convicted, saying there are hundreds of thousands of child sexual abuse cases in Colombia not being prosecuted. | Child welfare campaigners have called for a life sentence if he is convicted, saying there are hundreds of thousands of child sexual abuse cases in Colombia not being prosecuted. |
| The case has also prompted a movement to change Colombian law, says the BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Colombia, to ensure that those found guilty of raping children go to prison for life. |