Attempted abuse

Vienna: Boy (8) dragged into bushes by 17-year-old

The incident took place in May 2023. The eight-year-old was dragged into the bushes. (symbolic image)(Bild: Gerhard Bartel)

In May 2023, an eight-year-old was dragged into the bushes by a then 17-year-old while playing in Vienna's Vogelweidpark. According to the indictment, the mentally impaired perpetrator attempted to rape the child. The boy was able to free himself by punching him in the stomach. The sane defendant was given a conditional prison sentence and an unconditional fine in Vienna's Landl district. 

At first glance, the tall, stocky boy's mental impairment is not obvious. But the 18-year-old, who is now under the guardianship of his father, hardly answers any of the judge's questions and remains silent even when asked simple questions.

"Countermeasures must be taken immediately"
After his assessment, court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann confirms that the offender's intelligence is impaired, but considers the young man to be sane. "He needs appropriate treatment and medication. It is of relevance that countermeasures are taken immediately," Ms. Rat reads from the expert report. According to the defense attorney, his client is already undergoing therapy. The defendant is embedded in a daily structure at Jugend am Werk.

He needs appropriate treatment and medication.

Gerichtspsychiater Peter Hofmann begutachtete den Täter.

What the defendant is accused of is every parent's nightmare. On May 9, 2023, in broad daylight, he pulled an eight-year-old into the bushes in Vogelweidpark in Vienna's 15th district and groped him. He tried to pull down the boy's jogging pants and wanted to perform sexual acts on him. The child managed to free himself by punching the perpetrator in the stomach and ran crying to his mother, who was already in the park looking for her son: "He hurt me," the boy sobbed.

Crime scene Vogelweidplatz in Vienna 15.(Bild: Gerhard Bartel)

500 euros in damages for the eight-year-old
The Vienna public prosecutor's office charged the teenager with attempted rape and attempted aggravated sexual abuse of minors. In court, the Viennese man said taciturnly: "I am guilty."

The panel of lay judges sentenced the previously blameless man to eight months' conditional imprisonment and 120 daily fines of four euros each. He was also ordered to undergo therapeutic measures. The father acknowledges the 500 euros in compensation for pain and suffering demanded by the victim's representative.