Charges extended

Criminal trial against scene DJ for serial abuse

The accused DJ before his trial at the Vienna Regional Court

(Bild: Anja Richter)

The eagerly awaited trial against a 29-year-old from the Viennese techno scene, who is accused of crimes in connection with a total of five women, began on Thursday. The shocking range of charges: rape, sexual harassment and sexual abuse of defenceless persons. At the beginning, the accused pleaded "not guilty".

On July 21, the handcuffs clicked for a young man known in the DJ scene in Vienna. On Thursday, the "pretty boy", as he was perceived to be, was brought before the Vienna Provincial Court. Due to the great media interest, the jury trial is being held in a larger courtroom. 

The toilet of a club in Vienna is alleged to have been the scene of a rape.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/zVg, stock.adobe.com)

Two trial days have been scheduled for the controversial case. The accusations according to the Vienna public prosecutor's office: rape, sexual harassment and sexual abuse of defenceless persons.

23-year-old confirms allegations as a witness
Back in March, two young women filed a complaint against the DJ with the police, which set the investigation in motion. One victim stated that the accused had raped her in the toilet of a well-known Viennese club. She had gone to the toilet with him to consume drugs. There, according to the accuser, he pressed her head against the wall, pressed himself against the academic and also injured her arm. 

The 23-year-old also repeated the accusations as a witness at the trial: "I still had bruises a week later." The testimony visibly affected the woman, who cried in front of the courtroom afterwards.

Philipp Springer (left) represents a victim, Sascha Flatz (right) defends the accused.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Klemens Groh, Martina Pewein)

A no is said not to have been accepted
The women, who are also active in the Viennese techno scene, describe their experiences with the accused during the trial, sometimes in camera: unwanted kisses, intimate touching, intercourse in their sleep, without their consent. The accused did not take no for an answer. "He abused the victims in a state in which they could no longer understand the process of sexual intercourse," says the public prosecutor. "It took place in the techno party scene, there were drugs involved, there was alcohol involved," the prosecutor discussed. These offenses are being investigated separately. 

Permissive techno parties
Defense lawyer Sascha Flatz: "My client himself is shocked by the allegations". Like the victims, the accused was a guest or DJ at so-called sex-positive parties, where things were very revealing. "There are dark rooms and you can have sex with each other there," said Flatz, who admitted: "My client behaved morally out of line there." However, according to the lawyer, he had not committed any criminally relevant acts. - "I would never have sex with a woman who has overdosed," affirmed the DJ, who pleaded not guilty. 

Incidentally, the public prosecutor's office has extended the charges against the man. Due to the media coverage of the case, a sixth alleged victim has come forward. The woman claims to have also been abused by the 29-year-old in a defenceless state.

If convicted in accordance with the indictment, the man faces two to ten years' imprisonment; the jury senate will deliberate on this when the trial continues on October 25.