17 perpetrators tracked down

Major raid after abuse of 12-year-old girl in Vienna

The girl only revealed herself to her mother after much hesitation.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Police alert in the federal capital of Vienna around the shocking suspicion of several serial rapes - including dozens of cell phone videos. The victim: an innocent girl (12). The perpetrators: themselves still partly children between the ages of 13 and 18. 

The current investigation into suspected serious sexual abuse of minors is one of the most shocking sexual offense cases in recent criminal history. It centers on the destroyed childhood of a 12-year-old girl from Vienna. Her drama is horrifyingly reminiscent of the tragic death of Leonie.

The girl only revealed herself to her mother after a long period of hesitation.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

But first things first: It all starts at the beginning of last year with a harmless teenage romance. And ends in a months-long spiral of violence, threats, blackmail and suspected serial abuse, captured on cell phone videos! The multiple gang rapes (up to eight perpetrators) are said to have taken place in a parking garage, an apartment or a stairwell.

The perpetrators are said to have attacked the defenceless girl in this stairwell.

(Bild: Martin Jöchl)

This garage at the main station is also said to be in the investigators' sights.

(Bild: Martin Jöchl)

Now the bombshell: in a commando raid on Thursday morning, investigators from the Vienna State Criminal Police Office, Southern Branch, stormed several apartments and temporarily arrested 17 suspects in their children's rooms! The suspected perpetrators of the abuse - most of whom have a Turkish or Bulgarian migration background - are themselves children aged between 13 and 18. At least four cell phones were also seized.

Child offenders smile on soccer websites and TikTok
They smile in photos on soccer club websites and post "cool" videos on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. But the accusations of the criminal investigators are serious. Anna-Sofia (name changed by the editors) is said to have been put under pressure by her first boyfriend and coerced by force ("He held my head"). Then a frightening Islamic Stone Age image of women full of contempt is revealed.

Pupil was "passed on"
The schoolgirl was passed around among the teenagers like a "trophy". On the cell phone video of a gang rape, the 12-year-old can be heard shouting "Stop it!" over and over again. Out of shame and because she was also blackmailed with the films, the girl remained silent for a long time. Until Anna-Sofia finally revealed herself to her mother.

Investigations into the sensitive abuse case are in full swing at the Favoriten police station.

(Bild: ANDI SCHIEL)

After questioning, the 17 suspects were released from police custody on Thursday and reported at large. With one exception: a 16-year-old was provisionally arrested because he had resisted the police.

The boys themselves spoke of "consensual sex" during interrogations. The girl had also "pretended to be older than 14".

The Vienna public prosecutor's office must now decide how to proceed. Because the alleged gang rapists are subject to juvenile criminal law, they face "only" five years in prison instead of up to ten years for serious sexual abuse ...

Leonie case still haunts officials
The death of 13-year-old Leonie more than two years ago shocked not only investigators, but also the entire country. In detail: Passers-by found the teenager lifeless on a grass verge in Vienna-Donaustadt at the end of June 2021. Three young men of Afghan descent, aged between 19 and 23, were quickly targeted by the investigators.

Over the course of the previous evening, they had mixed at least six ecstasy tablets - MDA to be precise - into the drink of their soon-to-be defenceless victim. When they were arrested, they were initially charged with rape resulting in death and aggravated sexual abuse of minors.

After a verdict in 2022, however, it quickly became clear that it was cold-blooded murder after all - this was decided by the jury at the first trial and the Supreme Court followed this verdict shortly afterwards. The final statement from "Justitias" the previous year: even when they had the chance to get help, to call the rescue services, they did not. 

The 13-year-old girl was still treated like an object. She was taken and discarded like an object. The presiding judge closed the public court hearing last year with the words: "Even we have hardly ever seen such a high degree of guilt!"