72-year-old held after alleged abduction of four-year-old boy

A 72-year-old man suspected of taking a four-year-old boy to his apartment in Vienna’s Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus district has refused to give evidence and was placed in custody, ORF reported, citing police spokesperson Markus Dittrich.

The Vienna prosecutor’s office ordered the man’s transfer to a correctional facility. Police said he has an adult representative. He has also been reported on suspicion of sexual abuse.

Police have not ruled out further offences in the apartment, including sexual abuse of the child, Dittrich said.

The boy had been with family members in the courtyard of a multi-unit building on Friday afternoon before suddenly going missing. Police found him after receiving a tip, inside the 72-year-old’s apartment, on a staircase in the same building.

Because of his psychological state, the boy has not yet been questioned in detail. He told police that the man had taken him to the apartment against his will after they met in the stairwell.

Investigations are continuing, and police plan to question the boy in the coming days.