IT is horrifying news that a father started abusing his daughter from the age of eight, raped her at 16 and then this victim of a depraved parent went on to have six of his children.

This young girl begged her father to stop and act like a true parent, but the dreadful abuse went on and on with the father using emotional blackmail to persuade her to submit to him. And she in turn was too afraid to ask others for help to stop what must have been, and most likely is, still a living hell.

Incest is wrong both on moral and legal grounds, but what is also tragic in this case, is that some of the children of this unholy union were born with disabilities related to the close genetic make-up of their parents.

What is unbelievable in this day and age is that it appears that no one seems to have noticed the dreadful reality of this young mother's life. She had six children but the paternity, it appears, was not questioned by professionals, despite the fact that all was not well with her offspring.

How did this man get away with it and why did his daughter suffer for so long? We believe an inquiry should be held to determine how this systematic abuse was allowed to go on. Questions must be asked and answered.