voiceofreason
Senior News Editor since 2011
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...eresienbad-vienna-iraqi-refugee-a7473441.html
Man who raped child in swimming pool because it was 'a sexual emergency' has jail sentence increased on appeal
Defence lawyers for former Iraqi taxi driver had appealed the initial six-year sentence, saying their client did not know that the 10-year-old victim did not consent
12/14/16
An Iraqi refugee who was convicted of raping a 10-year-old boy in a swimming pool in Vienna has been handed an even greater jail sentence after his legal team won the right to a retrial.
Austria’s Supreme Court overturned an initial six-year prison sentence in October, ruling that the lower court had failed to establish whether or not the refugee, identified only as Amir A, knew his victim did not consent.
Now 21 years old, Amir was a taxi driver in Iraq before travelling through Europe to arrive in Austria in September 2015. As a relatively newly-arrived refugee, the trip to the swimming pool was organised as part of public integration efforts.
The court heard how Amir dragged his victim into the cubicle, locked the door and raped him. The child reported the attack to a lifeguard, and when police arrived they found Amir had returned to the pool and was playing on a diving board, making no attempt to flee.
According to reports, Amir confessed to the attack in initial police questioning, telling them it had been a “sexual emergency” because he had not had sex for four months.
Man who raped child in swimming pool because it was 'a sexual emergency' has jail sentence increased on appeal
Defence lawyers for former Iraqi taxi driver had appealed the initial six-year sentence, saying their client did not know that the 10-year-old victim did not consent
12/14/16
An Iraqi refugee who was convicted of raping a 10-year-old boy in a swimming pool in Vienna has been handed an even greater jail sentence after his legal team won the right to a retrial.
Austria’s Supreme Court overturned an initial six-year prison sentence in October, ruling that the lower court had failed to establish whether or not the refugee, identified only as Amir A, knew his victim did not consent.
Now 21 years old, Amir was a taxi driver in Iraq before travelling through Europe to arrive in Austria in September 2015. As a relatively newly-arrived refugee, the trip to the swimming pool was organised as part of public integration efforts.
The court heard how Amir dragged his victim into the cubicle, locked the door and raped him. The child reported the attack to a lifeguard, and when police arrived they found Amir had returned to the pool and was playing on a diving board, making no attempt to flee.
According to reports, Amir confessed to the attack in initial police questioning, telling them it had been a “sexual emergency” because he had not had sex for four months.