Prison Sentences in Trial of Abused Vienna Teacher

The prosecutor demanded harsh sentences for the defendants in her closing argument due to serious criminality. She emphasized that the evidence was sufficient for a conviction and that the victim had suffered greatly. The defendants showed neither remorse nor insight, but rather a remarkable lack of empathy. The teacher consistently and credibly testified seven times during the investigation that she had been the victim of various crimes.

Prosecutor in the trial of abused Vienna teacher: "Exploited her predicament shamelessly"

The prosecutor emphasized that the main trial was not about moral questions. The woman had "made wrong decisions" that did not always "meet societal expectations": "But it is by no means about passing a moral judgment on the teacher." The defendants had engaged in "psychological terror" and put the teacher into a "downward spiral from which she could not escape": "She was in a panic about losing her reputation, her job, her existence." The defendants had "recognized her hopelessness and shamelessly exploited her predicament." A "threatening backdrop" had been built against her.

The defense attorneys did not accept this afterward. "There were too many contradictions in the victim's account," said David Jodlbauer, who represents one of the three main defendants - a 15-year-old Iraqi. He appealed to the court to consider the principle of doubt, which is enshrined in the penal code: "Do you consider the charge so likely that you can proceed with a conviction?" Only in this case should there be convictions. If there is the slightest doubt about their guilt, the defendants should be acquitted.

On the fourth day of the trial, some witnesses summoned ex officio and made available by the defense were heard. First, the parents of the affected person spoke. A witness who works as an administrative assistant at the school where the teacher was or is employed also testified.

Father: "Never seen her so devastated"

"I've never seen her so devastated," the teacher's father initially stated. His daughter had first confided in her younger sister, then the parents also learned "what happened to her. That she was blackmailed, robbed, raped by a gang of youths. Drugs, violence, humiliation." Money was also stolen from her, once a piggy bank with 800 euros, then banknotes saved for a vacation from a handbag, the woman's father testified.

His daughter was pressured with "compromising photos," the father described. His daughter did not want to go to the police because she feared that knowledge of her contacts with youths would spread at the school: "She thought it would end badly for her professionally. She was totally distraught." Then there was a period of calm, his daughter believed the defendants had lost interest in her. However, she was still under pressure: "Her biggest fear was that it would come out. The shame. Her colleagues had blocked her. She had no one but us. She was socially isolated."

The main defendants - a 15-year-old Iraqi, a 17-year-old Romanian, and a 15-year-old Afghan - have been in pre-trial detention for eight months. They do not confess to the central allegations - including rape and sexual abuse - but admit to arson. In total, seven boys must answer to a jury, including a now 17-year-old former student of the teacher, with whom the woman allegedly had a brief consensual and therefore legally unobjectionable sexual relationship. The youth was 16 years old at the time. He is only accused of participating in the theft of the piggy bank from the teacher's apartment.

Rumors about Vienna teacher apparently circulated at school

At the school, rumors about a close relationship between the teacher and underage former students apparently began circulating with the start of the winter semester 2024/2025. This was suggested by the testimony of an administrative assistant at the educational institution, who was made available by a defense attorney and was briefly questioned as a witness. She had accidentally met a student on the street during the summer holidays of 2024: "He told me that she (the teacher, note) invites youths to her place and has sexual intercourse with them." She was "naturally shocked," the boy, with whom she had "a relationship of trust," had "mentioned a few names."

She "thought about whether that is true," the witness further testified. It "sounded credible to me": "The boy has no reason not to tell me the truth." In the fall, former students came to the school and told similar stories: "The girls were very excited that an older lady, a teacher, invites boys to her place."

The public prosecutor's office never initiated criminal investigations against the teacher. There was no evidence of misconduct by the woman in terms of any possible abuse of an authority relationship or other criminal provisions. The education directorate was tight-lipped on this topic. "Since this involves personal data, the education directorate for Vienna cannot provide information on the questions for data protection reasons," it said on Monday afternoon in response to an APA inquiry.

Youngest Defendant Partially Below the Age of Criminal Responsibility During the Alleged Crime Period

With the knowledge of her consensual short-term sexual relationship with the 16-year-old, the teacher apparently made herself vulnerable to blackmail. According to the indictment, several accused put heavy pressure on her, took advantage of her apartment, and had her pay for food, tobacco, and drugs. There were also reportedly three sexual assaults. The youngest defendant, who according to the indictment was not directly involved, was still 13 at those times and therefore below the age of criminal responsibility.

This boy was also present when the 15-year-old main defendants broke into the woman's apartment on the night of January 16, 2025, and set it on fire. At that time, he had been 14 for just over two weeks, so he has to answer in court for his involvement in the arson.

The intruders were after jewelry and other valuables. After gathering their loot, they set fires in two places. The apartment was completely burned out. Only thanks to the quick intervention of the professional fire brigade was the spread of the flames to other parts of the multi-party building prevented.

Mother: "She Was Completely Threatened"

With the arson and the police investigations initiated as a result, what had previously happened to his daughter "could no longer be concealed. It all culminated in the arson," the teacher's father summarized in his testimony. "She was completely threatened, she was afraid," the woman's mother confirmed afterward. She "did not want to hear the very violent stories."

The mother described the initial situation - her daughter's short-term consensual sexual relationship with the 16-year-old - completely differently from the now 17-year-old. He simply "came into the apartment," the mother claimed. However, the teacher herself admitted that she had contacted the teenager at a very late hour in an intoxicated state and invited him to her apartment, where consensual sex first occurred. "She never said they had a romantic relationship," the mother insisted in her questioning, "the word 'love' was never mentioned."

According to a psychiatric report obtained during the investigation, the woman suffered chronic depression and post-traumatic stress disorder as a causal reaction to the sexual assaults.

(APA/Red)

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