After EU arrest warrant

Child exploitation: Hungarian woman (56) arrested in Vienna

The 56-year-old apparently lived in Vienna for years without the Hungarian authorities searching for her.

(Bild: P. Huber)

A 56-year-old Hungarian citizen was arrested on Tuesday morning in Vienna-Ottakring by investigators from the Vienna State Criminal Police Office. An EU arrest warrant was issued for the Hungarian woman on Thursday. She had already been convicted of sexual exploitation of children and depictions of abuse in Hungary.

According to police spokesman Markus Dittrich, the woman was already convicted in 2012 for sexual exploitation of children and depictions of abuse of minors. However, it was only on Thursday that the 56-year-old was wanted by EU arrest warrant. The officers received a tip-off that the convicted offender was in Austria.

Authorities unaware of previous conviction
The Hungarian woman had actually been registered under her normal name in Vienna. So far there was no reason to arrest her, as according to the Austrian authorities there was nothing against her. In view of this, she has not yet been checked. Austrian investigators have no information about what happened in the time between her conviction in 2012 and today.

Woman in poor health
The Hungarian woman would have to serve a prison sentence of two years and six months for her crime. When she was arrested, the woman did not put up any resistance, apparently she was in poor health. According to her statement, she had problems with her lungs and needed an oxygen machine.

The officers released the woman by order of the public prosecutor's office pending extradition. This was probably mainly due to her poor state of health, which is why the authorities apparently consider the risk of escape to be negligible.