6 weeks after trial

Acquitted in the Anna (12) case arrested

The raised index finger from lawyer Mirsad Musliu had little effect. His client is in jail for the time being.(Bild: Gerhard Bartel)

So now it has happened after all: Two of the young men acquitted in the Anna case have been arrested. They allegedly committed a robbery in Vienna just a few weeks before the controversial acquittal in the group assault of a twelve-year-old girl and have now been caught.

At the end of August, there was an outcry across the country. Ten boys who had sexual intercourse with the then 12-year-old Anna (name changed) over a period of weeks were acquitted in Vienna's regional court. It was not only the verdict that caused a stir, but also the disrespectful behavior of the defendants in the country. One of them gave the media representatives the middle finger.

Old crime scenes also in the new case
The girl, who had claimed to be 14, was passed from one person to another in a hotel room in Favoriten. More than ten teenagers, including some from the Antonsplatz clique in Vienna's Favoriten district, assaulted the child that night. Sexual acts took place in a stairwell, a hobby room and a parking garage.

Shortly after the acquittals, it became known that another case was being investigated: Again, it is about a then 12-year-old victim who is said to have been sexually abused, threatened, coerced, beaten and spat on. Again by boys from the Antonsplatz clique.

Several names known from the Anna case appear in the harrowing act. Once again, a hobby room, a stairwell and a corridor toilet are the scenes. The victim says that the boys knew she was only twelve. And that violence had been used. Despite this, the youths, who are between 15 and 19 years old, have remained at large. The public prosecutor's office is investigating seven suspects for various offenses, including serious sexual abuse of minors, sexual assault, continued use of violence, dangerous threats and bodily harm.

Arrest after robbery
Now the ticking time bomb has burst: two young men, who were allegedly also accused in the Anna case, were arrested in Vienna and are being held in the Gray House. Lawyer Mirsad Musliu confirmed to "Krone" that his 17-year-old client has been in custody since last week: "I can't give any information about the content of the case." According to reports, the two are accused of committing a robbery in a parking garage. Several thousand euros are allegedly involved. The presumption of innocence applies to all those named.