Two Syrian men accused of raping and blackmailing a 16-year-old girl in Vienna have been acquitted after a court ruled that the case did not meet the standard required for conviction.
The defendants, aged 19 and 21, walked free following Monday’s decision after the prosecutor accepted the outcome and waived the right to appeal.
According to broadcaster ORF, the case centered on an alleged encounter in the spring of 2025, when the teenager traveled from Graz to Vienna and contacted the older defendant through Snapchat.
Prosecutors claimed the 21-year-old persuaded her to visit an apartment, prevented her from leaving, and forced her into sexual acts. They further alleged that he later called his cousin to the property and left the younger man alone with her, where a second assault took place.
The men were also accused of recording the encounters and using the alleged footage to threaten the girl into silence.
Both men denied wrongdoing, and the case went to trial. However, the court found that key elements of the prosecution’s case could not be established with sufficient certainty. The presiding judge said the complainant’s evidence contained major gaps, including an inability to clearly identify when the alleged offenses happened or where they took place.
No incriminating recordings were found on the older defendant’s seized phone, Exxpress noted, a point emphasized by his attorney during the proceedings.
The 21-year-old said he had briefly been in a relationship with the teenager and insisted that any sexual contact had been consensual. He told the court that he later ended the relationship.
His 19-year-old cousin said he had only gone to the apartment to collect a dry pair of shoes after his own footwear became soaked while swimming in the Danube. He denied having any sexual contact with the girl.
The teenager did not appear in person at the trial. She had previously been questioned during the investigation, and a recording of her evidence was shown to the court behind closed doors.
