For abuse

Drug-related death of 16-year-old: man (54) charged

Traces of various drugs, including cocaine, were found in the girl's body.

(Bild: P. Huber)

On June 27, a 54-year-old man will stand trial for sexual abuse of a defenceless person (Section 205 StGB) at Vienna Provincial Court. The defendant is accused of taking a 16-year-old girl who was addicted to drugs to an apartment in Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus last December. There he allegedly took advantage of her condition and had sexual intercourse with the 16-year-old on several occasions. The girl was found dead in the apartment on December 10.

The police investigation revealed that the 16-year-old had died as a result of her drug use. During the autopsy, traces of morphine, cocaine, methamphetamine and benzodiazepine were found in her body. The girl, who came from an extremely dysfunctional family background and had been living with a stranger, had probably been used to various substances for a long time. She was also known to the police. She was convicted of robbery at the age of 15.

54-year-old with multiple convictions
However, the 54-year-old has seven previous convictions in Austria. In the 1990s, the Romanian was sentenced to many years in prison in Germany for joint murder. He last lived unregistered in the apartment of acquaintances in Vienna. In connection with the death of the girl, it could not be proven in the public prosecutor's investigation that he was causally responsible or jointly responsible. "He did not drug her," said Nina Bussek, spokeswoman for the Vienna public prosecutor's office, when asked.

Observed buying drugs
The man had met the 16-year-old a few days before her death on Margaretengürtel when he observed her buying drugs. He spoke to her and chatted with her. When he met her again at Westbahnhof on 8 December, he recognized her immediately and subsequently took her to his accommodation. This was probably not only about drugs, but also about sex, although the man claims that initially they only "cuddled".

As the investigation revealed, the girl spent the night of December 9 in the apartment, where she was so impaired by various substances that she was, according to the accused, "embarrassed" in front of his two roommates. She is also said to have consumed cocaine she had bought herself and injected herself with Substitol in the strange apartment. According to the indictment, the two also left the apartment again on December 9 to obtain more drugs.

Spent the night in the apartment several times
After returning, the young woman spent the night a second time in the strange apartment. According to the accused, they agreed to perform certain sexual acts in return for payment. He also claims that he assumed that the girl was no longer a minor but over 18 years old. Because of this and because it was not possible to prove the opposite, the man was not charged with sexual abuse of minors - in principle, paid sexual contact with persons under the age of 18 is prohibited.

Allegation: abuse while intoxicated
After the young woman fell into a stupor as a result of the drugs she had consumed and was possibly already unconscious, he allegedly had unprotected sexual intercourse with her on several occasions that was not covered by the original agreement, most recently in the early hours of December 10. According to his statement of responsibility, he assumed that she was asleep. In order not to wake her, he had left the room and subsequently the apartment after he had woken up in the morning. Only when he returned did he notice that the 16-year-old was no longer showing any signs of life. The 54-year-old alerted the police. All help came too late for the girl. She was found half-dressed and lying on her stomach on a sofa bed.

When questioned by the police, the man stated that the sexual acts were consensual. He has been in custody for six months because he is a flight risk. If convicted as charged, the 54-year-old faces a prison sentence of one to ten years.