An Austrian court has ordered the conditional transfer, from a high-security psychiatric prison to a regular prison, of 88-year-old incestuous rapist Josef Fritschl, his lawyer told reporters today after the hearing.

Fritzl, who has now changed his name and his new name has not been released, raped his daughter, who he held captive for 24 years, and fathered seven children born of the rapes.

He is in the prison for “mentally disturbed” inmates after being convicted in 2009 of incest, rape, slavery, coercion and the manslaughter of his newborn son in the underground prison he had secretly built under his home.

During all these years, Josef Fritzl continued to live at home with his wife, Rosemary, whom the judges concluded was ignorant and convinced that her daughter had left home to join in a sect.

He suffers from dementia

Fritschl suffers from dementia, but was able to attend the hearing, his attorney said. The hearing was held following a psychiatric assessment, according to which he is no longer a threat to commit further crimes, Austrian media reported.

From regular prison, he can apply for parole. His lawyer, Astrid Wagner, said she plans to apply for his release next year.

Now 56, his daughter, Elizabeth Fritzl, and her children have moved under a new name to an undisclosed location to try to restart their lives in anonymity.