Girl humiliated

Further prison sentences in abuse trial

Eight young people had to stand trial.

(Bild: Lovric Antonio)

Eight teenagers allegedly sexually abused two girls (15 and 16) in a humiliating manner in an apartment in Bischofshofen in December 2023, the "Krone" reported. Now more teenagers have received prison sentences. All eight defendants have now been convicted. 

In the trial against eight teenagers and young men who allegedly sexually abused two heavily intoxicated girls in Bischofshofen on December 25, 2023, the last two sentences were handed down late Wednesday afternoon at the Salzburg Regional Court. One defendant was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, the second to four months' probation. None of the sentences are final.

Exploiting the state of defenceless girls
The public prosecutor's office had accused the majority of the accused of serious sexual abuse of defenceless or mentally impaired persons. The boys are said to have carried out massive sexual acts on the two heavily intoxicated girls in varying combinations. One of the teenagers had had the night off and invited them to a party at her place. The accused are said to have gradually joined them - and are said to have made the girls drunk with hard drinks and then taken advantage of their defenceless state.

Defendants previously blameless
The alleged perpetrators are Serbs, Turks and Austrians with a migration background. They all had a clean criminal record at the time of the crime, but some of them have since been convicted of other offenses. In June 2024, two of them are said to have seriously injured a 22-year-old Kosovar at Bischofshofen train station by kicking and punching him - and have therefore already been sentenced to partial prison terms. The oldest defendant was also found guilty of spreading IS propaganda.

Two further sentences on Wednesday
As reported, four defendants who confessed were sentenced to unconditional prison sentences of 18 to 24 months on the first day of the trial, while a fifth was sentenced to five months' probation and was only convicted for the sexual depiction or representation of minors. On Monday, another defendant was sentenced to 15 months' probation as a contributory offender. Today, the eldest, who did not confess, was sentenced to five years' unconditional imprisonment, while the eighth defendant received a four-month suspended sentence for filming the assaults.