The six defendants, who had to answer for two days at the regional court in Feldkirch for sexually assaulting a defenseless woman, were sentenced to long prison terms on Friday evening. The Afghan refugees, aged 23, 26, 29, 36, 52 and 57, received prison sentences of seven years (in two cases), 7.5 years, 8 years, 9 years and 12.5 years. The verdict is not final.
Defense attorneys asked for time to think it over. The men were accused of sexually assaulting a 45-year-old, heavily intoxicated woman in a refugee residence in Bludenz in February 2022. In court, two of the men denied having had sex with the woman. The other defendants spoke of consensual sex. An accompanying report showed that all suspects had intimate contact with the woman.
The defendants were all healthy
The statements of the expert at the hearing, which were based on the relevant analyses, left no doubt about this. According to court psychiatrist Reinhard Haller, the defendants were all sane at the time of the crime, even though two had “mild mental disabilities”.
The presiding judge justified the guilty verdict with the condition of the 45-year-old at the time of the crime. The woman, who spent several days in the refugee accommodation, appeared to be in a state of defenselessness. Their consent to sexual intercourse – the men had pointed this out – is not important in this case, the judge referred to established case law.
The case left the jury speechless
The act shows enormous misanthropy and leaves the jury speechless, the judge said. The range of sentences was five to 15 years, in one case five to 20 years. The fact that the men were under the influence of alcohol was considered a mitigating circumstance, and in the case of two men their impeccable character. The circumstances of the crime made it even worse – namely that several men had sex with the woman without protection in a row.
Source: Krone
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