A case of assault on a 12-year-old girl, all the defendants were acquitted - and now the mother speaks.
A controversial trial in Vienna has ended with a verdict of acquittal for all ten members of the youth gang accused of assaulting a 12-year-old girl in 2023. The decision, issued by the Vienna Landl court, has sparked outrage, especially from the victim's mother.
The judge justified the ruling by stating that the media coverage included false claims, some of which were used for political purposes. He added that the testimony of the victim, along with that of a close friend, did not clearly show the existence of coercion or force. According to the court, the girl did not describe herself as being forced into these actions.
The mother of the girl, who is now 15 years old, expressed her shock after the verdict was issued. She told Bild newspaper while crying that she had warned the youth welfare office that something was wrong with her daughter, but no one listened to her. She also revealed that the teachers had not informed her for months that her daughter had been absent from school, which made her feel left alone without support.
The prosecution argued that the teenage girl was pressured into sexual relations by members of the gang known as "The Antons". It is alleged that the assaults took place between March and June 2023 in the entrances of buildings, apartments, and a hotel room in the Favoriten district of Vienna. Despite discussions during the investigations about intimidation through violent videos, witnesses later denied these allegations in court.
It was revealed that nine out of the ten defendants were minors at the time of the events, and most of them were charged with violating the right to sexual self-determination instead of aggravated sexual assault. Some were also charged with producing child pornography. The charge of serious sexual assault was dropped because the girl had claimed at the time that she was 14 years old, which raised doubts about her actual age. Despite the acquittal, the prosecution emphasized that the aim of the trial was not to issue a deterrent sentence but rather to confront the defendants with the gravity of their actions.