Boy seriously injured

Sentencing for belt beater: eight years in prison

In June, a 35-year-old beat a 16-year-old with a belt in the middle of Horn (Lower Austria) and sent him to hospital.

(Bild: Attila Molnar, zVg, Krone KREATIV)

The 35-year-old who seriously injured a 16-year-old with a belt in Horn in June was sentenced to eight years in prison in Krems on Tuesday. He was also ordered to spend time in a forensic therapy center. The sentence is legally binding.

The man, who had a criminal record, was charged with intentional grievous bodily harm, among other things. During the altercation on June 21 in Horn, the 35-year-old is believed to have wrapped his belt around his right hand and punched three victims from the Horn district. A 16-year-old was critically injured in the head by the belt spike.

16-year-old beaten and taken to hospital
The teenager was flown to St. Pölten University Hospital by emergency helicopter. After emergency surgery, he was out of danger. A 53-year-old man also suffered serious injuries. He and another injured 16-year-old were transported to Horn Hospital.

In addition to the altercation, the 35-year-old was also charged with damage to property on Tuesday. The Afghan is said to have pushed open a door of his dormitory in Horn with his shoulder on June 18. According to the public prosecutor's office, another incident occurred on July 8 in Krems in the detention room of the prison. The accused is believed to have resisted a visitation before a detention review hearing - by biting, kicking and punching several prison officers. He was therefore also charged with resisting the authority of the state.

Man suffers from a combined personality disorder
According to a psychiatric report, the 35-year-old is sane - however, placement in a forensic therapy center was applied for and granted. The man is said to have acted under the significant influence of a combined personality disorder with narcissistic, dissocial and emotionally unstable traits. The case involved a "profound and persistent pathological distortion of the basic modalities of perception, perception, action planning and self-control".

The "belt beater should go home and not burden taxpayers", demanded Lower Austria's Deputy Governor Udo Landbauer (FPÖ) after the trial. "The costs for a 'measure prisoner' are many times higher than for an ordinary inmate." The fact that the asylum seeker will now cost taxpayers "several hundred thousand euros a year" is beyond anyone's comprehension.