Stepmother is said to have abused three children: nine years in prison

The woman was sentenced to nine years imprisonment for continued violence. She was acquitted of another child. The second accused father, who the public prosecutor had also accused of continued violence, was sentenced to three months for assault and coercion.

8,000 euros in compensation for each child

The stepmother also has to pay 8,000 euros in compensation for each of the three children. According to court spokesman Peter Egger, the verdicts are not final. Neither the two previously innocent defendants, who pleaded not guilty, nor the prosecutor made a statement.

The trial (chaired by Anna-Sophia Geisselhofer) for allegations of violence in upbringing between 2009 and 2018 started in June of the previous year. According to the indictment, four children between the ages of 16 and 23 are said to have been abused by their father and stepmother for years and punished draconically for small things. During the trial, the accused firmly rejected the accusations and said it was difficult to explain the incriminating statements made by the children.

Face slapping, squats, standing for hours

The man is the biological father of the children. In 2006 the mother divorced, the employee was given sole custody and initially raised the children alone. In 2008 his new partner moved in with him. After the wedding, the two are said to have cultivated an upbringing style that, according to prosecutor Ricarda Eder, was likely to impair the physical and psychological integrity of the children.

So there should have been slaps several times a week. Children were pushed down the stairs, one of the boys was tied up with tape for a day. There was also squatting and standing for hours like tin soldiers, sometimes outdoors in the cold. As punishment, the children were locked in their rooms for days, and at least one son is said to have been placed naked against the wall for several hours. The parents took pictures of this and threatened to show the pictures to the children’s friends. In addition, the father is said to have showered the children several times with ice-cold water and pressed a son’s head into the full rain barrel more often.

Consequences for children cannot be estimated

The indictment is based on the credible information provided by the victims and is supported by witnesses, the prosecutor said. According to an expert report, it is not possible to estimate what the consequences for the children will be. “The lack of basic trust will eventually be to the disadvantage of the children,” she quoted from the paper. The children were also threatened with being placed in a home if they did not present the family to the youth welfare office as perfect.

The defendants denied the allegations. “I love – although this charge is there – my four children. But I don’t understand many things here,” said the man. He and his wife usually imposed television and mobile phone bans as punishments. He took over from his own mother to let the children do a few squats if they lacked movement or to let them stand in the room like tin soldiers as punishment. “So that they can think about what they have done. But for a maximum of 15 minutes.”

Defendants denied allegations

There have only been two slaps in his children’s lives, and they weren’t out of spite or routine. Once, in 2004, his ex-wife was responsible, in 2012 his new wife, because a son had behaved completely irresponsibly at the time. The couple’s defense attorney said the family was accompanied for 16 years by a youth services expert. “She didn’t notice any of this, although she was expressly advised of overly strict educational methods.” In addition, one of the four children said that what the siblings said was not true. The lawyer had demanded an acquittal for his clients.

The stepmother, who works in a childcare facility, admitted the slap. Otherwise, she denied every single offense she was accused of. How do you explain the allegations then? A daughter was always jealous, the woman said. “I felt that. She always felt neglected. She got the least time and attention from me.” She believes that the daughter influenced her siblings. The father, on the other hand, suspected his ex-wife. “She turned the children’s heads,” he said in the process.