Report of the Commission

Tortured boy: data protection prevents reappraisal

The boy had to cower in this dog crate for hours. He was almost tortured to death by his own mother. The 33-year-old's best friend is also a co-defendant.(Bild: Anja Richter, zVg, Krone KREATIV)

How could it even come to this? A question that countless "Krone" readers are asking themselves after the court ruling against a 33-year-old mother. She had physically and mentally tortured her son for months, locking him in a dog crate. After the case came to light, accusations of failure on the part of the authorities were quickly made. A commission of inquiry from the state of Lower Austria has now investigated the case - and has come to a sobering conclusion.

A twelve-year-old boy bound and gagged for months, emaciated to 40 kilos, humiliated and crammed into a dog crate. Almost tortured to death by his own mother. A few days ago, around a year and a half after the horrific deed of a 33-year-old Lower Austrian woman and her former best friend in the Waldviertel region became known, the verdicts against the two women were handed down at Krems Regional Court. The mother of the child received 20 years imprisonment, the second defendant 14 years.

Assessment by youth welfare office raises questions
A social worker had raised the alarm at the last second and thus saved the twelve-year-old boy's life. But it was not only the testimony of a child and youth welfare worker during the trial that raised questions. Although a teacher reported that the boy was at risk on October 25, 2022 (she called the office a total of five times), a check was only carried out three days later.

Although the twelve-year-old had bandaged arms and only answered in monosyllables, there was no one-on-one conversation with the child. Instead, the social workers assumed that the boy was mentally impaired. During a further home visit on November 18, 2022, the social worker also saw "no imminent danger". The fact that nothing was done about the boy's incomprehensible ordeal for months leaves many speechless.

The child's mother faces 20 years in prison, the second defendant 14 years in prison(Bild: Anja Richter, Krone KREATIV)

Commission presents its findings
The state has now set up a commission to investigate possible misconduct on the part of the authorities. Since last summer, the actions and statements of institutions in the case have been examined by a group of experts. The independent "child protection" commission scrutinized interfaces, processes and legislation.

The expert group was chaired by Gabriela Peterschofsky-Orange, a child and youth advocate from Lower Austria. Other members were Hedwig Wölfl, managing director of the child protection organization "möwe", child and youth psychiatrist Paulus Hochgatterer and a total of three employees from child and youth welfare, the education directorate and the provincial health agency. 

Peterschofsky-Orange admitted on Tuesday that the case was "deeply concerning". In general, "practising child protection" is particularly important and children's rights should be the building block and the foundation. There is also a need to "raise awareness of the priority of child protection". 

We can provide an impetus with what we have developed. But it cannot be more than that, also due to the time available.

Gabriela Peterschofsky-Orange

Data protection has been an insurmountable obstacle to cross-system action and processing. Despite the urgency and dramatic scope of the case, the experts were only able to access publicly available information. As a result, the investigations remained stuck in purely hypothetical realms - the goal or desire for more efficient and effective child protection was therefore completely "independent of the case and unassessed".

Legal consequences not ruled out
On Tuesday, the members of the provincial government were informed of the results by Provincial Councillor Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig. Any contradictions between the new information from the court proceedings and the internal files would be examined. A request for administrative assistance to the court for the purpose of transmitting the minutes has already been requested.

Further legal consequences can therefore not be ruled out.

Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig, SPÖ-Landesrätin

Most urgent measure: Data protection and professional confidentiality obligations must never be allowed to block the exchange of knowledge in matters of child protection. Existing legislation must be reviewed in this area. Furthermore, a regular exchange between all "systems" is essential - i.e. cross-system coordination between all institutions and mandatory documentation.

The public has a right to information
The Commission also clearly stated that the public has a right to information about the general actions of public institutions. Provided that personal rights (data protection) are respected, transparency about the actions of institutions is not in conflict with the protection of children.

As a first consequence, a Lower Austrian child protection commission is to be set up. The next step is to hold talks at federal level in order to implement the recommendations. With regard to the tortured boy in the Waldviertel, this is a vague and probably unsatisfactory result. Victim advocate Timo Ruisinger is, however, reportedly seeking an official liability suit against the state, as the district authority should have intervened earlier.