A Syrian migrant who forced a 12-year-old girl to perform sex acts on him will not receive any prison time. A court in Vienna, Austria, only asked him to pay the family of his victim a paltry €100 (~$100) in compensation.
The court decided the Syrian, supposedly 15 at the time of the attack, may not have understood his pre-teen victim was not consenting. They conceded she may have said “no” but insisted that people sometimes say “no” and then “allow themselves to be persuaded by affection.”
The Syrian, now said to be 17, arrived claiming to be a refugee during the migrant crisis in 2016. He met the girl on the social media platform Snapchat, agreeing to meet at a park. The girl was later taken to a parking garage, where she was forced to perform sexual acts. Several others, including a 19-year-old, have been charged but still await trial over the incident.
A lawyer representing the victim and her family said the verdict showed “boundless contempt” for the victim and called the $100 payment a “mockery.” The acquittal is not final and may be appealed. The case is just the latest involving migrants sexually abusing an underage girl in Austria. In one case, a 13-year-old girl named Leonie was not only drugged and sexually abused but died at the hands of several Afghans, who were later convicted for her murder.
The populist, anti-mass migration Freedom Party placed first in the European Union country’s recent elections and is currently attempting to form a government.
