An Eritrean man is on trial in Germany after allegedly impregnating his 12-year-old daughter while they were living together in a refugee shelter last year.
The disturbing discovery was made in July 2023 after the young girl was taken to hospital with abdominal pains, where she was found to be five months pregnant.
DNA samples were taken from more than 50 male residents of the migrant shelter in an attempt to find the perpetrator, but when the child’s father refused, suspicions arose.
According to local media, the pregnancy was terminated “at the request of the family.”
The 40-year-old man, identified only as A. Tesfalem, appeared before the regional court in Giessen in Germany on Wednesday and expressed his regret, saying he was “remorseful from the bottom of his heart.”
An Eritrean man is on trial in Gissen, Germany, after allegedly impregnating his 12-year-old daughter while they were living together in a refugee shelter. In the photo: Gissen Regional Court
Tesfalem, however, claimed that he could not remember the alleged rape, explaining that he had been drinking beer with a friend all day and was drunk.
“I drank too much,” he told the court. “From that moment on, I was no longer in my right mind. It is indeed true that if a man drinks more than he can, he does not know what he is doing.”
The judge noted, however, that the suspect had never said he was drunk during the investigation.
The girl is said to have never spoken about what happened to her, but according to news channel Bild, a psychologist who treated her told the court that they had asked her if she knew how a baby was made, to which she said no.
The child, now 13, is reportedly severely traumatized and now suffers from dissociative behavior, German newspaper Breitbart reported.
She has been admitted to hospital and is undergoing therapy.
At the time of the alleged crime, Tesfalem, a single father, was living with his daughter in a refugee shelter in Friedberg.
The next trial is due to take place sometime this month.
The shocking incident comes amid reports that a 10-year-old girl in Mallorca became pregnant after her stepfather allegedly raped her while her mother was at work.
The disturbing revelation was made when the child suffered from abdominal pains, prompting her mother to take her to Son Llatzer Hospital in the island’s capital, Palma.
Doctors initially discovered several bruises and wounds that indicated the child had been sexually abused, before discovering she was also mother told hospital staff  .
Her mother told hospital staff that the only person who had cared for the girl was her current partner.
Police were called and the 35-year-old Spanish man was arrested.