Parents sentenced

Daughter bitten and son locked in cupboard

Salzburg courthouse, seat of the regional court

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

A mother and her partner had to explain themselves in Salzburg Provincial Court for draconian parenting measures: She had bitten her daughter on the arm and he locked her son in the cupboard several times. "When I was a boy, that was normal," the man ranted.

The unemployed defendant and mother of two bit her daughter in the forearm on March 20. "Really?" the judge asked. And the previously blameless woman just nodded: she had no explanation, only an "I'm sorry" escaped her lips. The judge quoted from the police interrogation that she had "lost her nerve".

Judge: "These are not parenting methods"
 The co-defendant's partner was less understanding: according to the indictment, he is said to have locked his son in the cupboard three times. He is also said to have switched off the electricity, even though the children are afraid of the dark. Deprivation of liberty was therefore the accusation: "When I was still a boy, that was normal," the accused tried to explain and said about the children: "They were still jumping around at three or four o'clock at night, turning the lights on and off." The judge replied: "Mr. Defendant, if you are so overwhelmed with raising children, you have to get help. Times have changed. These are not parenting methods in the year 2024."

At the time of the crime, the children were four and six years old. They are now in the SOS Children's Village: "I'm not allowed to visit them yet," added the mother. According to the victim's lawyer, the children were also in a "neglected state and had language deficits". 

Both defendants convicted
The woman was found guilty of assault and fined 200 euros. And six months' conditional imprisonment for the co-defendant local man. The two must also pay around 500 euros in compensation for pain and suffering. The verdicts are not final.