"Too many doubts"

Accusation of rape: soldier acquitted

(Bild: Juergen Radspieler)

A 27-year-old non-commissioned officer was acquitted of the charge of rape - not legally binding - on Tuesday in the Graz Regional Criminal Court. The jury had too many doubts ...

He and the woman had met in a pub in March of the previous year and had only known each other in passing. The Styrian woman was out with her mother. At three o'clock in the morning, the daughter apparently wanted to go to bed. "But my mother didn't want to go home yet because it was still so much fun," the woman described in the contradictory interrogation.

As the accused and the young woman liked each other and had kissed, mother and daughter decided that he would take her home with him. "I told him to take good care of my daughter," the mother told the lay assessor's court. 

"Never said that I should stop"
After some initial cuddling and kissing, they allegedly had sex in the apartment. "She never told me to stop," the sergeant affirmed. It was only when she stopped moving that he realized something was wrong. He stopped and asked her what was wrong. But the woman only looked for her cell phone in panic and then went back to her mother in the restaurant.

There, the daughter initially only talked to her mother about the lost cell phone: "She was completely beside herself about it." Only then did she tell her about the alleged rape. However, the young woman did not want to press charges. Only when her mother told a soldier friend months later did the matter go to the police.

"She had a boyfriend"
"Why do you think she incriminated you?" the judge asked the defendant: "I don't know. Maybe she was ashamed. She had a boyfriend, I heard later, but she was in a relationship break with him," he puzzled.

The young woman, on the other hand, stated that she had said several times during sex that he should stop and that he had choked her. Otherwise, however, her statements were much more vague than those of the accused or she could not remember some things.

Strangulation marks were not noticed by anyone, not even by the mother. It was also irritating that the two had become friends on a social media platform weeks after the night.

Even the public prosecutor said in his closing statement that the evidentiary proceedings had not made the decision any easier for the jury. The defense lawyer emphasized: "My client's statements were comprehensible and credible from start to finish". That could not be said of the young woman.

"We had too many doubts"
The panel of lay judges ultimately acquitted the man. It was a testimony-against-testimony offense, explained Judge Julia Riffel. It is always difficult to judge because there are no direct witnesses. However, it was striking that neither the daughter nor the mother pressed charges. In addition, it was initially only the lost cell phone that caused panic. "We simply had too many doubts," said the judge. The public prosecutor made no statement. The verdict is therefore not legally binding.