Austria is shocked by the rape and abuse of two girls aged 14 and 15. Two asylum seekers from Algeria were arrested in the case who are accused of drugging and abusing the teenage girls in an abandoned house.
It all started last October at Keplerplatz in Vienna, when the two girls were celebrating Austria’s national holiday, according to the Daily Mail. There, the two defendants, aged 24 and 32, approached them and persuaded them to get into a taxi, promising to take them to a party.
According to the statements, the men drove them to a house where they allegedly forced them to consume drugs and then abused them for 15 hours. The minors claimed that they threatened to kill them while the 14-year-old said that one of the perpetrators threatened her with a gun to her temple, which was later revealed to be a replica.
“He was going to kill me”
The two men allegedly raped the girls and forced them to perform sexual acts. The 15-year-old girl testified that the 32-year-old man squeezed her neck and an examination found that both had bruises and abrasions. “He said no one could hear me and that he would kill me if I did not do what he asked,” the minor testified.
Meanwhile, DNA found on the minors confirmed the defendants’ involvement in the case.
They deny the charges
The two men deny the charges, which, if proven, could land them in jail for up to 10 years. The 32-year-old has pleaded guilty only to drug charges, claiming he did not know the girls were underage. “We were told they were 24 and 21 years old,” he said.
The 24-year-old’s lawyer said “the girls were just chilling” at home, while his client maintains there was no rape. The older defendant, however, admitted having sexual intercourse with the 15-year-old girl, which was proven by DNA findings.
How they escaped
The teenage girls managed to escape the following day when the perpetrators fell asleep. Upon exiting the abandoned house, they alerted police, who proceeded to arrest the two men.
The case has provoked strong reactions in Austrian society, and the trial is continuing.
