Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Argentine man accused of keeping daughter as sex slave for 20 years and fathering eight children with her

Domingo Bulacio evaded capture by police for 45 days

Harry Cockburn
Thursday 26 October 2017 12:13 BST
Comments
Women take part in the "Ni una menos" (Not One Less) march against gender-based violence in Argentina
Women take part in the "Ni una menos" (Not One Less) march against gender-based violence in Argentina (AFP/Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

An Argentine man has gone on trial accused of raping his daughter over a period of 20 years and fathering eight children with her.

In a case reminiscent of that of Austria’s Josef Fritzl, Domingo Bulacio, 56, is accused of a two-decade campaign of abuse against his daughter beginning when she was 15-years old.

Mr Bulacio was eventually arrested in January 2016 after his daughter took her youngest son, aged five, to the doctor when he became seriously ill.

The boy needed to stay in the local care centre for several weeks, during which time the daughter revealed to doctors who the boy’s father was.

According to local daily paper El Liberal, they had all lived in a house with one room and Mr Bulacio allegedly raped his daughter in front of the children.

When police went to arrest Mr Bulacio, he was found to have disappeared, and then spent 45 days on the run before being captured in a rural area 30km south of the city of Loreto, according to local reports.

He underwent a DNA test to establish paternity and was subsequently charged with sex crimes.

There are conflicting reports over the whereabouts of the victim’s mother, with Columbia’s El Tiempo newspaper saying she left the house, abandoning her daughter, aged 11, after “mistreatment” by her husband.

But according to Clarin, Argentina’s largest newspaper, Mr Bulacio’s wife died, and the other two of the couple’s three children went to live with relatives.

Six of the eight children Mr Bulacio allegedly fathered with his daughter are now living at a boarding school in the city of Santiago del Estero.

The case continues.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in