"Don't remind me."

Stalker lay naked in his neighbor’s bed

He watched his victim through the window and loitered around the house. (Symbolic image)(Bild: stock.adobe.com null)

He stalked her, loitered outside her house, watched her through the window at night, and—in a horrific climax—lay naked in her bed: A 42-year-old man from Styria stood trial on Monday for persistent stalking. And he blames it all on alcohol.

"It was a very difficult time," the victim told Judge Michaela Lapanje. "It was psychological terror. I was afraid when I came home, I was always looking around. I thought he was capable of anything!" said the 56-year-old. "I have no idea what was going on in his head."

The defendant and the Styrian woman are practically neighbors. Five houses separate them in a small village in southeastern Styria. Every now and then they would smoke together or chat at the swimming pool. He allegedly told her that she was a beautiful woman and that he wanted to have sex with her. But she wanted nothing to do with him. So he suddenly started loitering around her house at night, looking through the windows, shaking the blinds, or banging on the door.

During the day, everything was always fine. But at night, he becomes a different person. When he drinks, it's a disaster.

Das Opfer des Stalkers

"I just want to cuddle"
Despite everything, the 56-year-old repeatedly emphasizes that the 42-year-old was never violent. "During the day, everything was always fine, but at night he becomes a different person. When he drinks, it's a disaster. He needs to get treatment." "And is it true that one night he lay down naked in your bed?" the judge wants to know. "Yes," the victim says in a quiet voice. "When I screamed, he put his finger on my lips and said, 'Shhh, I just want to cuddle.'" He apparently took the key with him when she left it in the front door a few days earlier.

The defendant, who has twelve previous convictions, including relevant ones such as filming women in the toilet, has a different recollection of the time of the offense. He talks about a budding relationship. "So she's lying?" asks Lapanje. "I don't know, I don't want to say that. When I'm intoxicated, I forget a lot." "You don't forget something like that," replies the judge. "Your behavior is more than borderline!"

It is an inexplicable, strange inclination. And even if no violence was used, it is very stressful for the victims.

Die Richterin

Suddenly he was standing in the bathroom
The worker also can't really remember the complaint filed by a mentally disabled woman from Styria, where he suddenly found himself standing in the bathroom. "A friend of mine used to live there, I wanted to visit him, but he had moved out!" he explains. "But you can't just walk into someone's apartment," the judge shakes her head in disbelief.

"I can't remember so many things," says the defendant with his head bowed. "I don't want to say that anyone is lying. But I have a serious alcohol problem. I didn't want to admit it. Now I'm in treatment. I'm not actually a bad person," he tries to show remorse.

The judge sentences him to 14 months' probation and orders him to provide regular proof of his psychological and alcohol therapy. "It's an inexplicable, strange inclination. And even if no violence was used, it's very stressful for the victims. If you continue like this, you'll lock yourself up next time." The verdict is not yet final.