16-year-old jailed for raping fellow juvenile detainee

A 16-year-old has been sentenced to two years in prison for raping and assaulting a 15-year-old fellow detainee at Eisenstadt juvenile prison, ORF reported. The Vienna Regional Court also found him guilty of bodily harm, aggravated coercion and making dangerous threats. The judgment is final.

The court awarded the victim 1,500 euros for the physical and psychological suffering caused by the attacks. The presiding judge said the panel had no doubts about the witness’s account. The defendant formally admitted guilt but sought to play down his conduct.

The victim was not called to testify at the trial. His video-recorded statement from the investigation was shown to the court without the public present.

The defendant had four previous convictions, mainly for property offences. In addition to the new sentence, the court revoked a previously suspended six-month prison term, meaning he will serve a total of two and a half years. The stateless defendant accepted the judgment after consulting his lawyer, and the prosecutor also waived an appeal.

Violence began after detainees were moved

The attacks took place in a three-person cell in the juvenile unit of Eisenstadt prison. The defendant and the victim had previously been held at Josefstadt prison in Vienna but were transferred to Burgenland in mid-September 2025 after a power failure.

The defendant was physically much stronger and allegedly began abusing his weaker cellmate almost daily. He punched the 15-year-old, mostly on the upper arms but also in the face, causing a bruise around the victim’s right eye. He was also accused of strangling him.

One night at about 2 a.m., he sprayed shaving foam into the sleeping boy’s face, restrained him on the bed and shaved off one of his eyebrows.

The defendant told the presiding judge that arguments over television programmes had caused the “problems”. He said the victim thought he was “the top guy”, although his cellmate was “small and thin”.

Victim briefly placed in same cell again

The violence culminated in a serious sexual assault that amounted to rape. The victim initially reported the physical abuse the following day but disclosed the sexual violence only later, apparently because of shame.

The two teenagers were then transferred from Eisenstadt back to Vienna, to Münnichplatz prison. They were briefly placed in the same cell again, a failure that surprised the judges during the trial. The victim had to speak about the abuse once more to ensure he would not remain imprisoned with his attacker.