Two girls, who were alleged to have been sexually abused by their violent father for years, were given a choice of sex or a beating, a Court heard yesterday.

The Bradford dad fathered three children by his daughter and stepdaughter when they were in their mid-teens, Bradford Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Kitty Taylor told a jury the girls lived in an atmosphere of intimidation and fear over a number of years, during which they submitted to his sexual demands.

Mrs Taylor said the alleged victims lived in a dysfunctional and violent environment in which family values were blurred and corrupted by the defendant.

She said the defendant was a “violent, aggressive and controlling” parent, which went beyond reasonable chastisement of children. They would be beaten if they did not have sex.

Mrs Taylor told the jury: “To put it bluntly, they were offered a choice of a beating or sex, and on many occasions they chose the latter, rather than get a beating.”

The 51-year-old man pleads not guilty to nine sample charges of rape against the two girls, and two charges of child cruelty, involving both girls.

Mrs Taylor warned the jury: “It is not a case for the faint-hearted. You will hear evidence that may disturb or upset you. But you must try this case on the evidence you hear and not the emotion you may feel.”

The prosecutor said there was no dispute the man fathered the children by his daughter and stepdaughter, but the defence case would be that it was consensual.

But she said that, in a prepared statement the man gave to police, in which he denied raping or any physical abuse, at no stage did he assert consensual relationships.

Mrs Taylor said the rape charges were samples and the girls alleged the sexual abuse took place frequently.

One described him as “manipulative and controlling” and the other said he would use a belt or stick on her.

Mrs Taylor said the man made his children become members of a religious order and punished them if they did not go to church.

She said he would hit them if they disobeyed him. He would beat, slap, or hit them, particularly with a belt with a buckle, leaving marks on their flesh.

“The girls were frightened and scared of him,” Mrs Taylor said.

The trial continues today.