Trial in Feldkirch

Rabid suitor acquitted in case of doubt

The Kosovar was allowed to leave the court building as a free man.

(Bild: Chantal Dorn, Krone KREATIV)

A Kosovar allegedly held a gun to the head of a Romanian woman and forced her to have oral sex. Several inconsistencies came to light during the trial at Feldkirch Regional Court. 

The father of the family has been in custody for two months. According to the criminal complaint, the man with five previous convictions is alleged to have raped a prostitute from Romania. This is aggravated by the fact that a weapon was involved. According to public prosecutor Simon Mathis, the accused ordered the prostitute to his apartment via the internet platform "Ländle Anzeiger" on the evening of February 26.

Shortly afterwards, the 33-year-old allegedly held a gun to the woman's head and ordered her to have oral sex. When the 34-year-old tried to flee, he allegedly threatened her again with the words "I'll finish you off!", held the gun to her head and forced her to have oral sex. According to the Romanian woman, she offered to give her tormentor back the 200 euros for the love service if he let her go.

Testimony against testimony
However, the accused denied this during the trial. He admitted that sex had taken place, but that he had shown her the gun during a smoke break. "And only because I had talked to the woman about her life as a prostitute, the pimping and the business itself. That's when I told her that I had a blank gun."

And so it's testimony against testimony. When asked by the presiding judge why she had not gone to the police or hospital afterwards, the prostitute replied that she had a child to look after and had been illegally engaged in prostitution in Vorarlberg. Only when the police put a stop to the woman during a raid and deported her to Romania did she press charges.

As the panel of lay judges doubted the credibility of both the accused and the prostitute, the Frau Rat acquitted the accused of the charge of rape. The verdict is not final.