Abuse over months

Anna: “They destroyed so much in me”

Anna's ordeal lasted many months. So far, all the suspects are still at large - although there are indications that the now 13-year-old was not their only victim

(Bild: zVg, Krone KREATIV)

17 boys raped a twelve-year-old girl in 2023. Over and over again, for many months. The tormented child and her desperate mother now speak in the "Krone".

The girl, who is now sitting on a couch somewhere in Vienna, seems anxious, shy and insecure. "Hello," says the now 13-year-old in a low voice; her handshake is barely perceptible.

"I thought I would never escape them"
She is reluctant to talk about the horrific things she has experienced over the past year. The psychological wounds that Anna(name changed) has suffered as a result of the crimes committed against her by 17 young people aged between 13 and 19 are too deep; her shame at what she has been subjected to is too great.

But suddenly she bursts out: "They destroyed so much in me." They, those guys, "I'm still afraid of them". Which is why she has still not dared to tell the police the whole truth about the actual extent of her ordeal. She talks to us about it.