A 55-year-old businessman from Wels is said to have abused children and young people from his circle of relatives and friends on several occasions since 1996. A jury panel in Steyr had sentenced him to 2 years in prison (30 months) in December. The Linz Higher Regional Court has now reduced the sentence by four months.
On December 20, 2021, the 55-year-old was found guilty in the Steyr Regional Court of sexual abuse of minors, serious bodily harm, pornographic depiction of minors and multiple abuse of a relationship of authority. Even his own son, who was still a minor at the time, is said to have been a victim. The jury imposed an unconditional prison sentence of 30 months. The Welser – he had made a partial confession during the course of the hearing – appealed against the amount of the sentence. The accused was brought out of custody and declared that he regretted the crimes and that he wanted to get back to work as soon as possible. Confirmation was presented to the appeals senate that the 55-year-old had already paid €4,200 as compensation to three victims. According to a psychiatric report, he was not a pedophile and also had no fixed sexual disorder: “He is also deeply impressed by his imprisonment.” However, the appeal was only partially followed: the compensation for damage was assessed as mitigating, the sentence was reduced to 26 months – and partial forbearance was rejected.
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