There have been reports of a number of cases that have been described as “copycat” Josef Fritzl cases, in which individuals have been accused of imprisoning and abusing family members in a similar manner to Josef Fritzl.
For example, in 2014, an Italian man named Pietro Maso was sentenced to 30 years in prison for imprisoning his daughter in a basement for 25 years and fathering seven children with her (source: BBC News). Maso’s case was widely compared to the Fritzl case, due to the similarities in the way that he had imprisoned and abused his daughter.
Similarly, in 2016, a man in the Netherlands was arrested on suspicion of holding six of his adult children captive in a farmhouse for nearly a decade (source: The Guardian). The case was compared to the Fritzl case due to the similarities in the way that the man had reportedly imprisoned and abused his children.
It is worth noting, however, that such cases are relatively rare and are widely regarded as extreme and aberrant forms of abuse. The Fritzl case, in particular, is widely regarded as one of the most heinous crimes in Austrian history, and continues to be a subject of fascination and horror for many people around the world.
