Not legally binding

Children robbed, humiliated: Teenager sentenced

The boys brutally beat and humiliated their young victims in Linz (symbolic image)

(Bild: dpa/dpaweb/Ingo Wagner (Symbolbild))

These were assaults that even the juvenile court judge, who has seen a lot in her career, could only shake her head. Three 14- and 15-year-old boys had robbed, beaten and severely humiliated three boys at Linz Central Station. In court, they admitted that they had reformed, but this did not spare them imprisonment.

A particularly drastic case of juvenile delinquency was heard on Wednesday at the Vienna Provincial Court. On April 12, 2024, two boys aged 14 and 15 had lured three physically inferior boys into a trap at Linz Central Station, robbed them and then forced them to come with them. In a park, one of the victims had to kneel in the middle. The 14-year-old was then beaten and kicked before he was humiliated - they urinated on him!

Judge horrified
The defendants undressed the completely intimidated pupil after he had handed over his iPhone, headphones and shoes as well as his jacket. Then they humiliated him to an extent that was uncharted territory even for the experienced judge. "I've never heard anything like this before. Not in 30 years as a juvenile court judge," said Judge Daniela Zwangsleitner. The public prosecutor spoke of an "excess of violence" and an "exhibition of pleasure in violence".

Perpetrators convicted of robbery shortly after assault
"They beat me. For two hours", described the victim of the adolescent criminals in the witness stand. The younger of the two accused already had a previous conviction. The 14-year-old was sentenced to ten months in Vienna on April 23 - eleven days after the incident in Linz - for aggravated robbery.

"I was swollen all over"
The maltreated 14-year-old told the court in detail about what had happened to him. In the end, he finally managed to run away: "I was swollen all over. Everything hurt. For days." He was unable to go to school for a week because of the pain.

Surveillance camera and confessions
The perpetrators were identified using images from a surveillance camera. They confessed before a lay judge. "We wanted to rob them", admitted the 15-year-old. That is why he and his younger friend offered the three boys a joint. They used it to get the three of them to leave the station premises: "We beat them outside." The three young Upper Austrians were then forced to get on a bus with their tormentors, who had traveled from Vienna, which took them to a remote park.

"I was stupid, thought it was cool"
"Why do you do something like that?" the judge wanted to know from the accused 14-year-old. "Because I thought it was cool. Because I was stupid. I can't tell you what was going on in my head two months ago."

Further acts
The 15-year-old also had to answer for a second fact, which is also unlikely to happen every day. On 8 May 2024, the boy, who had been placed in a crisis center, went to the Prater with a younger roommate on the boy's eleventh birthday. After some time, he tried to get the boy to sell drugs in the Venediger Au by telling him that he would otherwise kill him. Because the eleven-year-old refused, he was beaten in the face by the 15-year-old and another 14-year-old, who was now held responsible as the third defendant.

"Didn't know where I was anymore"
"I flew down and no longer knew where I was or what had happened", the 11-year-old told the senate. He briefly lost consciousness. When asked if he had been injured, the child said: "My rib hurt. I had to go to hospital. I was there for two days."

Sentences are available at
The sentences were handed down quickly, with the young criminals receiving between 10 months and 15 months in prison, two of them three months "sharp" and the main offender four months unconditional. The one who had previously been convicted of robbery was given an additional sentence. The sentences are not yet final.