Civil courage gets out of hand

Woman attacked – perpetrator knocked down by witnesses

There were (once again) unpleasant scenes at the Westbahnhof subway station.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Martin Jöchl und Stock Adobe)

An artist from Vienna was groped and beaten by a Romanian man on the escalator at Westbahnhof subway station. Witnesses showed moral courage, but it got out of hand.

"I don't even hit my own wife, let alone strangers." Statements like this give a deep insight into the mind of the accused Romanian in the Vienna Landl court. The family man is accused of grabbing a Viennese actress and dancer firmly on the buttocks on the escalator at Westbahnhof station on August 30.

Victim gave "reflexive slap"
"As I walked past him, he said something flirtatious to me. Suddenly, he slapped me hard on the buttocks," said the witness, who reflexively slapped the groper. He then punched her in the stomach.

"Maybe I moved my arms and legs by mistake and ended up hitting her buttocks," said the man, who has three previous convictions for violent crimes, denying the buttocks attack and the punch.

As I walked past him, he made a suggestive remark to me. Suddenly, he slapped me hard on the buttocks.

Das Opfer als Zeugin im Prozess

Because the young victim loudly drew attention to the escalator assault, men came running from several directions in the station and overpowered the drunk Romanian.

Five men overpowered the groper
What happened next, however, was apparently not just "civil courage," but, as Judge Danja Petschniker also noted, "inappropriate use of force." Several people were injured. One young man suffered a torn tendon and had to undergo surgery, resulting in seven weeks of sick leave. However, as he himself says, the injury could also have been caused by the blow he struck the Romanian.

The defendant took quite a beating. To show the teeth he allegedly knocked out during the incident, he steps forward and opens his mouth in front of the judge, who comments, "I'm not a dentist, but okay."

Partially suspended prison sentence
The case against the men who stopped the groper in a rather brutal manner was dropped. The Romanian himself received a seven-month partially suspended prison sentence for sexual harassment and assault on the actress. In addition, a suspended sentence was revoked.