There is now news in the case of the twelve-year-old who is said to have been raped several times by a group of teenagers between February and June 2023. Eight of the 18 suspects were already known to Vienna’s child and youth welfare services before the crime – but not because of sexual assault.
One suspect is being investigated on suspicion of raping twelve-year-old Anna-Sofia, while the others are suspected of sexually abusing a minor. The suspects include 13 underage boys between the ages of 14 and 18 and a young adult aged 19. Two suspects are not yet 14 years old. A perpetrator is still unknown. “We know eight of the 17 suspects,” MA 11 spokeswoman Ingrid Pöschmann was quoted as saying. Report of danger due to neglect However, MA 11 is not aware of any previous history of sexual assaults for any of the suspects. Two of the boys were noticed for violent behavior, and parents of other children filed reports. There were “economic problems” in almost all of the families that MA 11 worked with before the attacks. “Some of the families contacted us directly. “A big challenge for many is inflation and its consequences,” said Pöschmann in the “Kurier”. In some families there have also been reports of danger – due to neglect, psychological and physical violence towards the children. “In cases where child protection could not be guaranteed, we intervened,” emphasized Pöschmann. “Risk assessments are now taking place. “It’s about the question: what do young people need to change their behavior,” said the spokeswoman for MA 11. The measures for this are individually tailored to the person affected; various therapy offers or anti-violence training are possible, for example.
source site-12