After the non-final conviction for rape and sexual harassment of seven and a half years in prison, the mayor of Scharten, Jürgen Höckner (ÖVP), announced his resignation in Upper Austria at the beginning of October. Now he wrote a farewell letter at community expense, which is causing a stir again.
Jürgen Höckner persistently remains silent in relation to the media. Nevertheless, he is likely to have a strong need to communicate. As in June, three weeks after the announcement of his resignation, he spoke at the community’s expense with a special edition of the Schartener community news. On two pages he describes his perspective on the judgment of the regional court in Wels.
As reported, Höckner allegedly sexually molested an employee twice and raped them three times between 2014 and 2016. For this he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. The judgment is not final and, according to Höckner, “incomprehensible”. Furthermore, the fallen mayor asks for understanding that he does not apologize: “Because I have not done anything wrong,” said the ÖVP politician.
He thanks his wife Ursula and son Philipp, who are said to be suffering a lot from the situation. Both give him strength and support so that he does not give up. He doesn’t think of that anyway. In conclusion, he says: “Time will tell whether it is easier to go to jail innocently for many years or to live the rest of your life with the certainty that you have existentially destroyed someone.”