An Afghan man was convicted of sexually abusing Mia, who was 12 at the time, but he will not have to serve any jail time. He said during his trial in his defense: “I thought it was allowed.”
The case of Mia has made national headlines in Austria due to the large number of men and teens who were involved in sexual relations with the young girl from Vienna.
The ex-boyfriend, 18-year-old Wais S., who had sex with Mia when she was only 12, was sentenced to a suspended sentence by the Vienna Regional Court. The suspect was charged with aggravated sexual abuse of minors, possession of child abuse material, and coercion. He was found guilty of a number of offenses, including abuse of a minor, since he knew she was under 14, the court found. However, due to the suspended sentence, he will not serve prison time unless he reoffends, and even then, it is not guaranteed.
Mia and the ex-boyfriend were in a relationship until the summer of 2023. Wais S. also impregnated Mia. The girl eventually had an abortion.
In the courtroom, he explained that they “were in love,” adding: “I thought it was allowed.” A social worker also allegedly told him the relationship was OK, according to the Kurier newspaper.
The defendant admitted some of his guilt in the courtroom and said he did blackmail Mia into returning a ring he had given her as a gift. His blackmail material included videos of Mia having sex with 15 different migrants, all of which were later found on his smartphone by police.
“She cheated on me at ski camp. I had bought her a ring with my last money because I loved her so much. She gave it back to me because she was afraid I would publish the videos,” he admitted.
The 19 suspects in the case were accused of gang raping Mia for months and using videos of the gang rapes taken between February and June 2023 as blackmail material to coerce her into having further sex, sometimes multiple times a week.
He told Mia: “I have videos,” and threatened to release them. In a revenge porn chatroom called “ExposingVienna,” the convicted teen wrote: ‘She gangbanged with 15 guys, she’s posting videos, do you want videos, hahahaha?'”
Those videos had been used against the other migrant males in the trial; however, a number of these migrants have been found not guilty, as the sex was found to be consensual by the courts despite the girl being only 12. However, a trial of a number of the migrant youths is ongoing. Mia’s attorney said he hopes for an indictment soon, saying: “The victim must be shown that the rule of law is taking action and that she will not be left alone.”
Many of the sexual acts took place in a parking garage, in a stairwell, and inside the home of one of the 15-year-old suspects near Helmut Zilk Park in the 10th district. In addition, the suspects even rented out a hotel room to have sex with her there, according to German newspaper Bild.
According to Bild, Mia is seen being abused by eight of the migrants while screaming, “Stop!”
“It was all consensual,” said the ex-boyfriend, Wais S., during his trial. He also said that Mia told him he was a different age than she actually was.
“She was afraid I would leave her because of that,” he said.
Despite being Afghan, the male told Mia’s parents that he was half Filipino and half Romanian.
“People talk so much about Afghans, we didn’t want that prejudice to arise,” he told the court.
The victim’s lawyer, Sascha Flatz, demanded €2,000 in damages from Wais S. “He acted as a savior and exploited the situation. He forbade her from wearing makeup or revealing clothing. And he deliberately tried to destroy the mother-child relationship.”
Flatz’s demand for a “just punishment to show the victim that the rule of law is taking action” was not accepted by the court, as Wais S. was given a suspended sentence.
The prosecutor also made some surprising comments. Despite the girl being only 12, he said, “It was consensual; the two were in a relationship. One must keep things in perspective.”
After some other suspects in the case were found not guilty, the mother was in disbelief, saying it was “a slap in the face.”
“My daughter doesn’t deserve this,” she stated through tears in the courtroom. She described how the schoolgirl now struggles with severe emotional and physical symptoms, including stomach cramps, depression, and anxiety, which have left her bedridden and withdrawn from the world.
She expressed disbelief at the court’s interpretation of consent, stating, “If she says no three times and in the end goes along with it out of fear, that apparently can’t be condemned.”
“My daughter’s life has been shattered, but I will not stop until justice is served,” the mother added.
