London, June 10 (ANI): In a case reminiscent of Austrian incest father Josef Fritzl, a woman in a remote fishing village in Brazil has been freed by police after being imprisoned and repeatedly raped by her father for 12 years, during which she bore him seven children.

Her father is also accused of abusing one of the girls he had with his daughter.

It is alleged that Jose Agostino Pereira, 54, kept his daughter, now 28,under virtual house arrest in a two-room, thatched roof hut near a tiny fishing village in northeastern Brazil.

The hut was so remote that the only way to reach it was by canoe.

Police has said that the woman and her kids appeared to be suffering from malnutrition and could hardly communicate.

Most of them were not wearing any clothes.

The alleged abuse began when Pereira’s wife left him in 1998, said police inspector Jair Lima de Paiva.

Pereira has been in jail since Tuesday in the city of Pinheiro in Maranhao state, about 1,400 miles (2,250 km) north of Rio de Janeiro.

Under Brazilian law, charges will not be filed until the police have ended their investigation.

Police has said that Pereira kept his daughter and the children in nearly complete isolation deep in the jungle near the village of Experimento, about 50 miles (80 km) outside of Pinheiro.

While the exact ages of the children - four girls and three boys - were not known as none of their births were registered, police believe they range in age from two-months-old to 12.

“None of them were allowed to leave the house. None can read, they can barely communicate with other people. They were all threatened with their lives if they tried to escape or tell anyone about the situation,” The Times quoted Paiva as saying.

He said police were tipped off about Pereira’s alleged crimes by an anonymous phone call.

Officers were sent to the remote area about 10 days ago, where they located Pereira’s house, kept it under observation for a few days and then arrested him.

“He confessed to everything,” said a police officer who helped arrest Pereira.

Pereira’s daughter and children are now under the care of the government’s protective services.

Last year, Austrian man Josef Fritzl was found guilty of locking his daughter in a dungeon for 24 years and fathering seven children with her. (ANI)