Trial of Abused Vienna Teacher Enters Next Round

At the Vienna Regional Court, the trial concerning a teacher was continued on Wednesday, who, according to the indictment, was subjected to a "martyrdom" by boys aged between 14 and 17 from July 2024 to January 2025, as her legal representative Monika Ohmann emphasized at the start of the trial last week. After questioning the main defendants - a 15-year-old Iraqi, a 17-year-old Romanian, and a 15-year-old Afghan - three other accused were heard.

Defendants do not confess

The three main defendants have been in pre-trial detention for eight months. They do not confess to the central allegations - rape, sexual abuse, and serious extortion. In total, seven boys must answer to a jury, including a 17-year-old with whom the teacher allegedly had a 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 a piggy bank (contents: 800 euros) from the teacher's apartment.

14-year-old testifies about arson

The youngest defendant is only 14. He was present when the 15-year-old main defendants broke into the woman's apartment on the night of January 16, 2025, by one of them smashing a pane of the patio door with an emergency hammer to gain entry. The woman was abroad on vacation at the time. "I didn't think anything of it. I just went along," the still quite childlike 14-year-old explained to the court. They searched the apartment for jewelry and valuable items, the others took watches: "I didn't take anything."

"And then a fire was set," the 14-year-old spoke about the arson. His friends each set things on fire with a lighter: "Then we jumped out of a window in the bedroom." He hadn't thought about the consequences of the arson: "I thought it wouldn't end so badly."

The apartment was completely burned out. Only thanks to the quick intervention of the professional fire brigade could the flames be prevented from spreading to other apartments in the multi-party building.

17-year-old allegedly threatened teacher

Another defendant - who claimed to be the former best friend of the boy who had sex with the teacher several times - described how he first entered the woman's apartment. She had contacted his friend late at night and asked him to come to her, to which he explained he was at a fire department festival with a group of teenagers. "Bring them along," the teacher had replied. So they ended up in the apartment as a group of three, "including me," the 17-year-old stated.

From the woman, he then learned that she wanted to have sex with his friend, claimed the defendant. She was also interested in him, which the teacher, however, firmly denies.

She claims instead that this tall, strong guy massively intimidated her by presenting himself as a violent criminal - he has a previous conviction for assault. According to the indictment, he threatened the woman, saying he would "destroy her if she called the police." "Within a short time, 50 people would be standing in front of her door." Therefore, she felt compelled to finance drugs, food, and tobacco for the group at their request.

Defendant Denies: "It's About Revenge"

"I never blackmailed her, I never threatened her," remarked the 17-year-old. The woman was also not robbed; the missing piggy bank she "might have misplaced." When asked why the teacher and the other defendants were incriminated, the teenager replied: "It's about revenge." She wants "to get back at the group for what happened to her," he said, alluding to the setting fire to her apartment.

Among the defendants is also a 16-year-old whom the teacher had taught until 2024. "There was no rape. 100 percent not," he stated. In addition to arson, the main defendants are accused of several sexual assaults in various compositions. Besides rape, the charges concerning the sexual integrity of the victims include the sexual abuse of a defenseless person and sexual coercion.

"I didn't have sex," assured the 16-year-old. The woman "tried it once with me, but I declined," he claimed. This also does not match the teacher's statements. The 16-year-old is also accused of breaking into the school, to which he confessed: "I smashed everything in the staff room. I was high and found it funny. Now I regret the act."

Affected Teacher Suffers from Severe Psychological Consequences

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, which is equivalent to serious bodily harm. She was interrogated contradictorily during the investigation and will no longer testify as a witness in the main trial.

Instead, a four-and-a-half-hour video of the gently conducted questioning of the victim will be played on Thursday. The public is likely to be largely excluded during this for victim protection reasons. From 2:30 PM, the psychiatric expert is expected to present his report on the psychological consequences of the incriminated actions. Witnesses are summoned for next Monday. If the trial - as originally planned - concludes on Monday, the verdict for the seven defendants is expected to be announced late in the evening.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.