Russian man charged with 729 counts of rape against his five foster daughters

A Russian man has been charged with 729 counts of rape who allegedly sexually abused his five foster daughters on a daily basis.

The abuse of the girls, aged 17 and under, is alleged to have taken place during a five year period in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur located on the left bank of the Amur River in the far-east of Russia, local media report.

An investigation was was launched when one of the girls reported the man to her school teacher. The girls' identity and exact ages have not been disclosed.

The man, who has not been named for legal reasons, has been detained while 729 separate allegations of rape against him are being investigated, The Siberian Times reports.

Law enforcement sources reportedly said the man forced four of the five girls to have sex on a daily basis.

Ilya Gudkov, from the Khabarovsk Regional Investigative Committee, said: "According to the investigation, from September 2012 to February 2017, the man systematically committed serious crimes of a sexual nature in relation to five guarded girls. After an appeal by the investigators, the court ordered the arrest of this man.”

The man became the girls’ guardian after they were sent to the foster home by an orphanage in the region.

According to The Siberian Times, the man is believed to have been paid by the state about 20,000 roubles (£265) a month for each girl in his care.

Another investigation has been opened against the local child care service for negligence. The investigation will also look at the circumstances that led the service to approve the fostering arrangements of five young girls with a single man.

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Other reports claim the man previously lived with a woman, who also fostered three boys but the girls were in his name.

Alla Kuznetsova, education minister for the region, said repeated inspections had not shown any problems. She said the five girls have now been sent back to the orphanage.

Under Russian law, the man faces a maximum of 15 years in jail if he is convicted of rape.