On Tuesday afternoon, the 18-year-old was acquitted at trial in Vienna after being accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old with a drug disorder on the night of December 6, 2022 and abandoning her after she lost consciousness.
The court acquitted the boy of all charges early in the afternoon due to lack of evidence. The young woman was found dead in the entrance of a residential complex in Döbling.
“I Can’t Remember Anything”
Lawyer Florian Astl pointed out in his closing argument that it was still not certain whether the accused sexual acts had taken place consensually. The court must therefore decide according to the principle ‘in dubio pro reo’, according to the lawyer. “I don’t remember anything,” the suspect testified in court.
DNA traces in the genital area
The court followed Astl’s arguments on Tuesday. It is a fact that a drug party has taken place, judge Martina Hahn said. “And the very long memory gap is also medically incomprehensible.” DNA traces were also found in the woman’s genital area.
The suspect has an addiction problem
“But there is no evidence that violence has taken place,” said the judge. With regard to the second charge – the abandonment of an injured person resulting in death – the chairman emphasizes that it must be assumed that the suspect was asleep and did not realize that the young woman was already showing no signs of life . “Since we don’t have more facts, we had to apply the rule of doubt,” said the judge, who emphasized that the suspect had to get his addiction problem under control. Prosecutors did not make a statement Tuesday. The verdict is not final.
The suspect allegedly used the 19-year-old’s drug-addicted state at the after-party at his apartment that evening to have sex with the young woman. When the then 17-year-old realized the next day that the woman was no longer showing signs of life, he removed her from his apartment and placed her in the stairwell entrance without further care for her.
The time of death is not certain
It should be clear by now that the young woman had been taking drugs 30 to 90 minutes before her death – possibly along with the suspect. The exact time of the 19-year-old’s death is not certain and can probably no longer be clarified.
A 32-year-old resident discovered the woman in the stairwell when he went outside with his dog shortly before midnight. On the first day of the trial, the man said he approached the woman who was lying on the floor with her knees bent, touched her shoulder and finally shook her. He alerted the rescue service.
All help came too late for them
The 32-year-old performed CPR until emergency services arrived. The 19-year-old never regained consciousness. Although the rescuers then fought for their lives on the spot with a defibrillator, all help came too late. At the start of the trial at the end of July, the suspect denied the abuse and spoke of memory gaps.
Source: Krone
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