Father sentenced after taking baby from stroller during custody dispute
Monday 24th August 2026 on 12:30 in
Austria
A father was sentenced on Monday after tearing his daughter from a stroller and fleeing during a violent custody dispute, ORF reported. He initially denied the allegations but later confessed.
The incident took place during a meeting at a youth welfare office in a building near a railway station. The meeting was intended to determine which parent should have custody of the child. Both parents were apparently considered unreliable.
The grandmother, who was responsible for the child at the time, tried to stop the father as he rushed towards the stroller. A youth welfare office employee also attempted to restrain the Russian-born man by force.
The 35-year-old overpowered them, took the child from the stroller and ran out of the building. Police had been alerted and stopped the father and daughter in the street.
The charges included bodily harm, resisting state authority and coercion. The man has been held in pretrial detention since the incident.
At first, he portrayed himself as the victim and claimed that the grandmother had attacked him. Witness statements contradicted his account, and he eventually admitted the allegations.
The court sentenced him to one year in prison, with three months to be served immediately. His daughter is currently in the care of the youth welfare office. It remains uncertain whether she will ever be returned to her father or mother.