Judge Dietmar Wassertheurer, who presided over the senate of lay judges, said in his reasoning for the verdict: “We as professional judges are not aware that something like this has ever happened in Carinthia on such a scale.” The defendant had shown a systematic, targeted approach over the years. He had built a relationship of trust with the seven- to ten-year-olds that he had then exploited. “They were humiliating acts, a sadistic approach that the children will not forget for a lifetime,” said the judge. All of the massive aggravating factors meant that falling below the maximum penalty was out of the question.
Prosecutor Sandra Agnoli had previously called for the maximum penalty in her plea: “When, if not in this case, is the maximum penalty appropriate?” The defendant showed no sympathy, the investigations revealed a “shocking level of, above all, psychological violence”. The accused had followed a perfidious crime plan and abused children for years, and there was also a network with an international pedophile ring. The defendant would have used the children concerned “like toys. He did not care if they were harmed”.
Long list of deeds
It had taken the public prosecutor Agnoli several minutes at the beginning of the trial to list the individual acts that the man was accused of. She also addressed how the man had managed to gain the trust of boys and their parents. For example, the man had operated a road sweeper for work, which he used to attract boys. He ingratiated himself with his parents by doing repairs for them, for example. Over time, he managed to spend time with the children undisturbed.
It was followed by expensive gifts, such as laptops or game consoles, which he gave the boys. “Then slowly he began to make it clear that he was asking for something in return for the gifts,” said Agnoli. It is particularly perfidious that the defendant specifically selected children from low-income families. He then threatened that he would demand the money for the gifts back from the parents if they were not compliant: “The children knew that their parents could not afford it. The defendant made it increasingly impossible for them to get his Wishes not to be complied with. “
Already convicted twice
The 45-year-old has already been convicted of child abuse twice, for which he had already served a prison sentence. The man used every opportunity to come into contact with boys. His tendencies cannot be treated, said Agnoli, “at best they can be brought under control. But he never even attempted to do this.” The defendant even offered himself as a childminder by means of an advertisement.
The public prosecutor justified her application for admission to an institution for mentally abnormal lawbreakers with a “severe sexual preference disorder combined with sadistic plot lines” on the part of the accused. “He knew what he was doing, he accepted the serious consequences for the children, he was aware of them,” said the prosecutor. And: “It can be estimated that he will commit further acts, acts with serious consequences.”
The man’s defense attorney had emphasized that his client had “essentially confessed”, he only denied individual offenses. The public was excluded from the trial until the verdict was announced in order to protect the privacy of the children concerned.
Actually, two men are charged in the case, in addition to the 45-year-old also a 25-year-old German. At the beginning of the process, however, there had been a corona-related change, the defense attorney for the second defendant had tested positive for the corona virus. The trial against the 25-year-old was therefore eliminated.
The two defendants were arrested about a year ago. They are said to have filmed and photographed their deeds and shared the material in relevant groups. This is how the investigators tracked down the men: Videos were found on the 28-year-old main perpetrator of the Münster abuse complex, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison in the summer.
Source: Nachrichten
