Judge explains

Aloisianum trial: Why it came to diversion

The diversion for the five defendants in the trial surrounding the incidents on a school trip to the private Catholic high school Aloisianum in Linz is causing discussion.

(Bild: TEAM FOTOKERSCHI / WERNER KERSCHBAUMMAYR, Krone KREATIV)

Five boys allegedly locked a schoolmate in a room and coerced her during a school trip to Italy. This is why they stood trial in Linz on Friday. There was no conviction, but a division. This caused a lack of understanding. A judge explains the decision.

The end of the trial against five pupils from the Aloisianum Catholic private school in Linz is causing discussion in the forums of the "Krone" newspaper. In May 2024, the boys had dragged a fellow pupil - who was 15 years old at the time - into a room on a school trip to Italy and forced her to give them a massage. On Friday, the five had to stand trial for coercion. In the end, there was a diversion. This means that there was no guilty verdict and no conviction. The defendants had previously apologized to the girl and acknowledged that what they had done was not right. There was also financial compensation.

No understanding
The decision caused a lack of understanding among Krone readers. "If this is just youthful recklessness, then I don't want to be a girl," wrote one. "Such judgments are a license for the next ones," wrote another. Or: "Yes, if you have the right parents, come from a good family and have the right connections"

Responsibility assumed
Walter Eichinger, spokesman for the Linz Regional Court, explains the decision: "The defendants were young people who had no criminal record. They were facing a maximum sentence of six months or 360 daily rates, which means they could be sentenced to diversion. They also apologized and took responsibility." This decision would also have been made if the parents had not been rich and celebrities. The judge explicitly emphasized this.