Trial skipped

Convicted rapist went into hiding in England

After his conviction in May 2023 at Wels Regional Court, the Afghan (38) went into hiding in Great Britain. Ten months later, the fugitive from justice has now been arrested.(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

An Afghan (38) was sentenced to eight years in Wels for continued violence, dangerous threats and multiple rapes in the family circle, but skipped the appeal hearing. Investigators have now found him. The fugitive from justice had gone into hiding in England.

No, this man is almost certainly not a "good guy": in May 2023, an Afghan (38) was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment at Wels Regional Court for the continued use of violence, making dangerous threats and multiple rapes within the family circle. However, this verdict is not final, as the defendant appealed against the sentence.

Appeal hearing was scheduled for October
The Afghan would have had his appeal hearing at the Higher Regional Court in Linz in October. However, the father of four, who immigrated to Austria with his wife and children in 2014, preferred to go into hiding.

Tenacious investigators did not give up
But the human submarine had not reckoned with the tenacity of the search team from the Upper Austrian State Criminal Police Office. In cooperation with the Wels Regional Court and the Cyber-Crime Investigation Group, the sleuths were able to track down the "disappearing bus" in the English town of Doncaster.

Apparently, he had been smuggled into the UK by an international network of smugglers.

No more fun
On Monday, March 11, the fun was over. The wanted man was arrested by Interpol in cooperation with our investigators. The Afghan, who last lived here in the Vöcklabruck district, is currently in custody pending extradition.

How could he disappear?
But why is it possible for a suspected sex offender who has been sentenced to eight years - albeit not legally binding - to simply give up and secretly shoot his way out of our country?

Left at large
"I don't know about the current case. In principle, it happens again and again that such accused persons are not in custody at the trial. For example, because the crime was committed so long ago that there is no risk of recidivism. The former mayor of Scharten also remained free after being sentenced to seven years in prison until the appeal hearing," explains Johannes Huber, press spokesman for the Wels Regional Court in response to an inquiry from Krone: "However, this is relatively rare."