Vienna court sentences father to 10 years for abusing sons

A Vienna court sentenced a 42-year-old father to 10 years in prison on Wednesday for repeatedly abusing his three sons, aged 12, 15 and 17, ORF reported. The court also gave the children’s mother a one-year suspended sentence.

The case came to light after police went to the family’s home shortly before midnight on July 12, following reports from neighbours who heard a child crying out in pain. Officers described the mother and children as tearful, frightened and intimidated, according to the incident report.

Prosecutors said the father had beaten his youngest son for hours with a leather belt, a charging cable and a plastic hanger after the boy rode his bicycle against his father’s instructions. A forensic medical report found that the 12-year-old had suffered more than 100 forceful blows and a severe soft-tissue injury. The 17-year-old was also badly beaten when he tried to help his brother.

Investigators found that the father, who came to Austria with his family in 2016, had allegedly subjected his sons to regular abuse since 2020. Their testimony formed the main basis of the prosecution’s case. Photographs documented the injuries from the latest assault.

The father told the court he had only begun occasionally hitting his sons with an open hand in 2023 or 2024, when he said their behaviour had worsened. He said he had punished them for issues including riding without a helmet and poor school performance. His lawyer described the latest incident as a “terrible event” in which the father had entered a “state of violent frenzy”.

The prosecutor said the mother had repeatedly tried to protect the boys and calm her husband, but had done too little during the final assault.