Parallels to "Leonie"

13-year-old abused under drugs in Vienna

The second defendant, who has many previous convictions, pleaded guilty in Vienna Landl.

(Bild: zVg)

Continuation of the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl in Vienna's Landl district, the genesis of which is reminiscent of the tragic case of Leonie. The child had gone to the apartment of two young men (17 and 22 at the time) in November 2022. Both defendants had unprotected sexual intercourse with the minor, who was severely impaired by drug use. The sentences were lenient.

It is hard to bear what is presented in the trial at the Vienna Regional Court. A girl aged just 13, a heavy drug user, meets a 17-year-old and a 22-year-old Serbian in the park and wants to bum a joint.

The two young men persuade the girl to accompany them to their apartment. The younger girl's mother is also at home. In the room of the first defendant, both had unprotected sexual intercourse with the minor one after the other. They are also alleged to have consumed cocaine and marijuana with the girl. "They were aware that she was underage. But you didn't care", said the public prosecutor in his plea. 

"I am ashamed of it"
The defendants deny this: "When I found out that she was only 13, it was a shock for me. I thought she was 15, 16 or 17," affirms the second defendant. He claims to have been so badly affected himself that he can hardly remember exactly what happened. "I can't believe that I slept with this child. I'm ashamed of it," says the defendant, who has six previous convictions. "I was just looking for people to hang out with."

She told me she was turning 18 and we didn't know she was a child.

Die Mutter des Erstangeklagten war zur Tatzeit zuhause.

The victim's worried sister searched for the missing girl using a cell phone tracking app and finally rang the 17-year-old's doorbell. She found the petite 13-year-old, who weighed just 35 kilograms, badly affected: "She even had problems putting on her shoes."  

Mother of the 17-year-old allegedly lied to the police
The second defendant pleaded guilty to the sexual abuse and to handing the victim marijuana. The younger boy, however, pleaded "not guilty" to the sexual abuse of a minor, as did his mother, who is accused of making a false statement to the police. She had stated that she did not know the second defendant, although he had been close friends with her son for several years. "She spoke to the police about a Mohamed from the park who didn't have a cell phone," the public prosecutor told the jury. 

The trial brought back memories of the Leonie case. In June 2021, the 13-year-old died after being drugged and abused in Vienna.

(Bild: Stefan Steinkogler)

The second defendant, who already has robberies, traffic accidents under the influence of drugs, order fraud and forgery of documents on his criminal record, played down his contact with the girl: "It's nothing new for girls that age to smoke joints and use drugs," he says. The sentences: Two years in prison each for the two men. In the case of the older man, this is an additional sentence, and two months initially suspended from a district court case were revoked. The 24-year-old must therefore serve a total of four years and two months; this sentence is final. The 19-year-old has been given a conditional suspended sentence of 16 months. He has asked for time to reflect.