Incurable Stalker in Vienna: Twelve Months Partially Conditional

The defendant had already received a six-month suspended sentence in August 2023. However, just two months later, the young woman experienced the same ordeal again. The man fully confessed to the judge.

"I did it a few times every month," the 20-year-old admitted. Among other things, he allegedly placed stiletto shoes in front of the student's apartment door or rang her doorbell multiple times and then disappeared. Additionally, he reportedly found the young woman's phone number online, as the prosecution stated on Monday. However, calls or WhatsApp messages went unanswered.

According to the indictment, the woman was not spared from the young man even at her parents' residence. The stalking culminated in November with an incident at Schwedenplatz. She had attended a course in an office building there. When the defendant tried to follow her into the building, she called a security guard for help. The police subsequently arrested him. "I did it for fun and didn't think about it."

"I Was Afraid"

"I was afraid that he would kick or push me," recalled the young woman, who was summoned as a witness on Monday along with her parents. She said she had been subjected to his pursuit since she was 16. Her father, who claims to have known the defendant since his birth, described him as reclusive to the point of being behaviorally conspicuous. "He never played with other children back then," said the bank employee. "He always acted impulsively. When I saw him at our place, I knew he would ring the doorbell again in a few minutes." He was worried about "the children."

The defender of the aspiring violin player argued in court on Monday that the 20-year-old is now enrolled in a music conservatory in Düsseldorf. He had wanted to retake a high school exam in Vienna before the last incident, but had already planned his move to Germany. Additionally, he has had a girlfriend in Vienna for about a year. "He will not do it again in the future and will not stay in Austria," explained the defender, who pleaded for a diversion or another suspended sentence due to his client's confession and age.

Psychiatric Assessment Still Pending

The judge ultimately did not accept these arguments. "Not even two months later, the same victim," she admonished the accused. She eventually sentenced him to eight months suspended and four months of unconditional imprisonment. Additionally, probation assistance, the initiation of psychotherapy, and mandatory attendance at a men's counseling service were ordered again. The public prosecutor and the man's defender made no statement.

In addition to the prison sentence for persistent stalking, the court had the then 18-year-old student admitted to a forensic-therapeutic center in the summer of 2023, but suspended the measure with a probation period. The man's dangerousness is now to be reassessed.

He began his stalking at the end of 2018. Other women were also affected at that time. There had repeatedly been reports against the young man, which, however, were ineffective. Only when the 18-year-old was finally taken into custody after the last report did the affected women have peace.

(APA/Red)

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