"Hell" for the victim

Rape: six years in prison for aristocratic scion

The young Viennese met the victim in the trendy club "Volksgarten".(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Martin Jöchl, Zwefo)

The pictures are shocking: bruises, strangulation marks and bite marks on the arms and even the face. A man in his early 30s - descended from an Austrian noble family - allegedly inflicted these injuries on a young woman and raped her in the process. The Viennese man has now been sentenced to six years in prison for this.

The man in his early 30s nervously shakes his leg as he awaits his sentence in the Vienna Regional Court. And rightly so: he faces up to 15 years in prison for rape with serious permanent consequences. In the summer of 2023, he is alleged to have brutally assaulted a 26-year-old woman. 

"Wanted to get to know him better"
The two met in Vienna's trendy Volksgarten club and got talking. The tall, good-looking Viennese - who is descended from a former Austrian noble family - with his actually likeable manner had already taken a liking to the young woman. "I wanted to get to know him better", she said during her victim interrogation on the first day of the trial. However, sex had never been an issue for her ...

When she came to the apartment, all hell broke loose on the victim.

Vorsitzender Richter im Vergewaltigungsprozess

The two of them took a cab to the apartment of the aristocratic scion - where the mood suddenly changed. Pictures of bruises, strangulation marks and bite marks on the 26-year-old's face give a dark idea of what she experienced that night. On the day of the verdict, court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann describes what the woman is still going through: "She has post-traumatic stress disorder with anxiety. This is the ideal description here." Since the crime, she has suffered from panic attacks and memories that keep coming back to her. The fact that she only reported the rape months later is also normal for a victim of such violence. 

"Sucked and nibbled a little"
The 30-year-old dismissed the injuries: "I sucked and nibbled a bit." - In any case, the sex was consensual. After all, the woman went with him voluntarily. "How should he have known it was too rough if she didn't say so? She should have communicated what she wanted and what she didn't want - then it would have turned out better for everyone," said the Viennese's defense attorney in his closing statement. 

However, the presiding judge had clear words for this: "None of this is a justification or explanation for brutally raping her. When she entered the apartment, all hell broke loose on the victim." He mentions the forensic medical report, which was able to establish clear rape injuries ...

Prison sentence in the lower range
"We have come to a very clear guilty verdict," says Mr. Rat on behalf of the jury senate: six years in prison. With a penalty range of five to 15 years, the sentence is still in the lower range. The 26-year-old was awarded just under 14,500 euros in compensation for pain and suffering and therapy costs. Neither side makes a statement. The aristocratic scion leaves the courtroom without a wince - he remains at large until the verdict is final.