A ruling by the Vienna Regional Court has sparked public outrage in Austria and reignited debate over crime involving immigrants. Many citizens have criticized the sentence, considering it far too lenient.
A 52-year-old Syrian man lured his neighbors’ six-year-old daughter into his apartment with a lollipop in July 2025, after encountering her while she was playing in the courtyard of a residential complex. The unemployed man—sustained with regular social assistance payments worth €1,100 each—then sexually abused the girl. The perpetrator’s DNA was discovered in the victim’s intimate area.
During a search of the residence, authorities reportedly found more than 6,200 child porn files on two smartphones, a laptop, a USB stick, and a hard drive, including images of infants. The Syrian man had also sent material via WhatsApp, created 166 screenshots, and shown a pornographic video to a girl in a park.
In court, the defendant initially denied everything. He claimed that the child had come in voluntarily and ‘swore’ that he had only “touched her briefly when she was standing at the bed.”
The court sentenced the man to four and a half years in prison for rape, serious abuse of minors, and possession of child abuse material. The penalty range under sentencing guideline § 201 StGB is two to 10 years, meaning the sentence falls in the lower range of possible penalties.
According to such media outlets as Kronen Zeitung, “The outrage over the verdict is great”. The ruling was also strongly criticized ‘below the line,’ in public commentary under the article:
Our justice is a laughing stock!
This judgment is only possible because it goes down and over in the back in this state.
This is not the first time a court decision in Vienna has sparked public outrage. In another case, a local court caused controversy after confirming that a financial ruling based on Islamic law, or Sharia, is legally valid in Austria. Although the court said its decision only applies to property disputes, opponents fear it will encourage the wider use of Sharia-based agreements in Austria.
