A criminal case was heard at the Vienna Regional Court on Friday, which was strikingly reminiscent of the fate of a 13-year-old who was taken by several men to an apartment in Vienna-Donaustadt in June 2021, where she was drugged and abused. The girl died as a result of drug poisoning – she had been given several ecstasy tablets containing MDMA. The perpetrators dumped her body on a grass verge in front of the apartment.
The case, which was now being dealt with before a jury (chaired by Hannelore Bahr), also involved a girl who was 13 years old at the time of the crime, who happened to have a conversation with a boy she had previously unknown on the night of November 27, 2022. “She suffered from massive psychological problems, was often not at home, did not go to school and sometimes lived on the streets,” said prosecutor Wolfram Bauer. The boys took the girl, who was already under the effects of benzodiazepines, to the 17-year-old’s apartment, where they gave her other addictive substances – marijuana and cocaine. The young men then took advantage of the young girl’s impaired condition and had unprotected sexual intercourse with her.
“They didn’t care”
For the public prosecutor, the offense of serious sexual abuse was undoubtedly met: “It was clear to them that the girl couldn’t be of age. Because she didn’t look of age and doesn’t look of age today either.” The girl initially pretended to be 15 “because she was hoping to get the drugs,” but then even told the boy her real age. “They didn’t care,” said the public prosecutor, who was able to rely on a DNA report that shows that both young men had intimate contact with the 13-year-old.
Defendant pleaded guilty
The older of the two defendants was absent from the hearing due to illness. The now 23-year-old submitted a medical confirmation electronically and his case was canceled to avoid procedural delays. He will be tried at a later date. According to the prosecutor, he is said to have confessed and recently stated that he was “ashamed of having slept with a child.” The younger man – who had been 19 for a few days – was not aware of any guilt. “I’m not pleading guilty because I didn’t know how old she was,” said the man, who has already been convicted three times despite his almost young age. For him, the girl was “not a child, but a teenager.” “She didn’t tell him that she was under 14,” said defense attorney Sonja Scheed.
The 19-year-old has been the father of a baby himself for a few weeks now. He does not live with his partner; mother and child are housed in a social facility.
