Trial in Vienna

Pensioner severely maltreated and raped

(Bild: APA/Georg Hochmuth)

On Friday, a panel of lay judges at the Vienna Regional Court dealt with a severely abused woman. A 39-year-old man had to answer for rape, assault and aggravated coercion after he severely abused the 71-year-old woman in her apartment on September 7, 2024. At midday, the man was sentenced to three years' unconditional imprisonment.

He was "partially guilty", the man said. "She hurt me psychosomatically. She hurt me interpersonally", he explained the motive. He had helped the woman some time ago "to separate from her long-term partner" and then to move house, the man explained.

Several punches
He then spent the summer months living with her in Vienna and the rest of the year in his home in Vorarlberg: "We had a good friendship plus. We were a team." When he didn't come home on time on the night of September 7, she covered up a large declaration of love that he had painted on a wall in the shape of a heart together with the woman's first name with white paint.

Tiedto the chairwith cable ties 
This had injured him when he came into the apartment at 3 a.m. - impaired by the consumption of alcohol and cocaine. According to the indictment, the 39-year-old first punched the woman several times in the face after an argument, choked her, tied her to a chair with cable ties and cut off tufts of her hair.

After undoing the restraints, he thwarted the 71-year-old's attempt to escape, dragged her into the bedroom and forced her to tolerate and perform sexual acts.

"The biggest fuck-up ever"
He had "built the biggest shit ever", the accused stated. However, he then trivialized the incriminated acts. The public was excluded before the 71-year-old was questioned as a witness.

According to a psychiatric report, the 39-year-old suffers from bipolar disorder, but was sane at the time of the crime. His ability to control and act was at best reduced, according to the expert.

7000 euros compensation for pain and suffering
The woman was awarded 7,000 euros in compensation for pain and suffering by a panel of lay judges. The defendant agreed to the sentence and the verdict is already final.