Charges brought

Emergency signal from six-year-old: man must stand trial

(Bild: P. Huber)

The events surrounding a Viennese family last weekend are now taking an official legal route: the 39-year-old stepfather, who was arrested after his six-year-old stepdaughter gave a distress signal, has now been charged by the Vienna public prosecutor's office. The man is accused of aggravated coercion and deprivation of liberty, the trial at the Regional Court for Criminal Matters is scheduled for December 16.

The Iraqi-born man, who has no permanent residence in Vienna and already has a relevant criminal record, has been in custody in Josefstadt prison since his arrest.

Forced into the car against his will
According to the criminal complaint, the man allegedly forced his partner and two children - a six-year-old and an infant - into his car against their will last weekend and threatened the woman with a knife. He is said to have driven the three of them across Vienna for around an hour.

(Bild: P. Huber)

The man's defense lawyer, Sebastian Lesigang, denies the accusations: "He did not commit any crime. He neither threatened the woman and the children nor forced them to get in the car. He called the police himself after there was a rear-end collision."

Daughter's SOS signal saved the family
The children's mother had already obtained a restraining order against the accused. In this context, she had taught the six-year-old the SOS signal for domestic violence - it was precisely this signal that alerted the police to the situation when they discovered the frightened family in a fender bender on Neubaugürtel.

When the car was checked, three knives were found, one of which was in a baby carriage.

Thanks to the child's alertness and the accidental traffic accident, worse was prevented. It now remains to be seen how the court will assess the incident.

Help offered by the AÖF association: The women's helpline against violence 0800/222-555 is available around the clock, multilingual, anonymous and free of charge to all women, relatives and interested parties: www.frauenhelpline.at; at the Association of Autonomous Austrian Women's Shelters (AÖF) at www.aoef.at

The Vienna police are the point of contact for people who perceive violence or are themselves victims of violence. The police emergency number 133 can be reached at any time. The crime prevention department of the Vienna State Office of Criminal Investigation also offers personal advice on the hotline [phone].

Further contact points for victims of violence: Violence Protection Center Vienna: https://www.gewaltschutzzentrum.at/wien/ 01/585-32-88 - 24-hour women's emergency call of the City of Vienna: 01-71719 - Vienna Women's Shelter Emergency Call 057722 - Austrian Violence Protection Centers: 0800/700-217)

Online counseling HelpChat "Halt der Gewalt" (daily 6pm-10pm and every Friday from 9am-2pm): https://haltdergewalt.at)