A GANG of immigrant teenage boys are on trial in Vienna accused of blackmailing, raping, and tormenting a teacher for months – before torching her flat in a bid to destroy the evidence.
The horrific case involves seven defendants aged between 14 and 17, all with migrant backgrounds, who are alleged to have turned the 28-year-old woman into their personal victim through threats, intimidation, and violence.
YouTube/RTLA gang of immigrant teenage boys are on trial in Vienna accused of blackmailing, raping, and tormenting a teacher for months[/caption]
YouTube/RTLThey also torched her flat on fire[/caption]
YouTube/RTLThe horrific case involves seven defendants aged between 14 and 17, all with migrant backgrounds[/caption]
The ordeal started in April 2024 when the woman had a consensual relationship with a 17-year-old former pupil.
The liaison was legal – he was over the age of consent and no longer at the school.
But the teenager bragged to his friends, and by May 2024, a group began turning up at the woman’s flat.
The teenagers claimed to be part of a criminal gang, threatened to expose the relationship, and pressured the woman to let them in.
At first, they used her home as a safe space for taking drugs.
But the intimidation quickly escalated.
Prosecutors say the gang sexually assaulted the woman individually and in groups, blackmailed her with videos, and forced her to pay for their food, taxis and cigarettes.
They filmed encounters to use as leverage, threatening to reveal everything to her school.
The woman, terrified of losing her job and reputation, endured months of abuse between July 2024 and January 2025.
YouTube/RTLThey filmed encounters to use as leverage, threatening to reveal everything to her school[/caption]
YouTube/RTLThe woman, endured months of abuse between July 2024 and January 2025[/caption]
Her lawyer warned the court the last thing the victim wanted was to be endlessly re-traumatised in headlines – and a judge ordered much of the trial behind closed doors to shield her identity.
Filmed and blackmailed
Prosecutors say the teenagers didn’t just threaten – they filmed encounters and used the footage as blackmail.
A Polaroid of a positive pregnancy test was allegedly brandished at one point to humiliate and control her.
Fearing for her job and reputation, the woman felt trapped and paid to keep the torment going.
The gang also siphoned cash and possessions from the teacher, prosecutors allege.
She was coerced into covering taxi fares, food and cigarettes, and valuables were taken during repeated visits. One defendant bluntly told police: “I wanted money.”
The violence culminated in January 2025 while the teacher was abroad. Three of the teens – two aged 15 and one just 14 – are accused of breaking in, stealing jewellery, watches and sunglasses, then setting fire to the flat to destroy evidence.
The defendants admit the burglary but deny intentionally starting the blaze.
Courtroom under lockdown
When the case reached the Vienna Regional Court on October 6, security was tight.
Seven prison officers escorted the defendants; a further seven armed guards ringed the packed public gallery.
Photography was banned and large sections of the hearing were closed to protect the victim and the youths, who are all minors.
The teens’ lawyers say the encounters were consensual. Defence teams have admitted to some thefts and drug-related allegations but flatly deny the sexual-violence charges.
One defendant shrugged when asked about the arson, saying: “It wasn’t smart anyway.”
The prosecution paints the group as a violent youth gang – one with up to 70–80 associates and a taste for showing off criminal clips, from car break-ins to other offences.
The teenagers allegedly impressed the victim with staged videos and threats, presenting themselves as part of a hard-bitten crew even as some described the group simply as mates who went ice-skating.
Central to the trial is whether the teacher’s April 2024 relationship with a then-16/17-year-old former pupil was consensual and legal – the prosecution says it was not a criminal offence because the boy was over the age of consent and no longer a pupil.
But the friendship opened the door to the rest of the group’s pressure campaign, prosecutors argue.
Investigators submitted a psychiatric report that links the assaults to chronic depression and PTSD – injuries the court treats as serious bodily harm.
Phone records and other digital evidence, prosecutors say, show repeated visits and a concerted campaign of intimidation from May 2024 onwards.
Victim’s life ripped apart
The woman reportedly called in sick when the new school year began in September 2024, unable to face pupils amid the harassment.
By November, prosecutors say the abuse had escalated to assaults on her terrace and filmed scenes that completed the blackmail loop.
Her legal team argued that public reporting would only deepen her humiliation and risk her professional future.
Judges agreed, limiting the detail the press can publish and sealing parts of the proceedings – a move that has left many in Austria following the case asking for more transparency while balancing the victim’s privacy.
The case lands amid a national debate over sexual criminal law.
Austria is already wrestling with reform proposals after a separate case in late September saw a group of teenagers acquitted in a high-profile sexual abuse trial – a result that shocked many and sharpened calls to tighten protections for victims.
If convicted of the most serious counts – including rape with lasting psychological effects – some of the older teens could face up to seven and a half years in prison.
Because most of the accused are under 18, sentencing and detention will be shaped by juvenile law and rehabilitation rules.
The trial is set to continue on October 15 with further testimony from additional defendants.
Closing arguments and verdicts are expected when the hearing wraps up around October 20 – though lawyers warn the schedule could shift.
Defence lawyers have tried to humanise their clients, describing one 17-year-old as “charming” and insisting he had a consensual relationship with the teacher.
Prosecutors argue the picture that emerges from phone records, videos and witness statements is of a planned campaign of intimidation and exploitation.
This is more than a courtroom drama: according to the psychiatric assessment, the woman’s life and career have been scarred.
Her legal team has repeatedly sought restrictions on reporting to prevent the sort of public shaming that often follows cases like this.
The case has reignited debate about youth crime, integration and social cohesion in Vienna – and about how schools, social services and the justice system respond when minors are both defendants and alleged perpetrators.
It has prompted tough questions about policing, prevention and how best to protect teachers in their workplaces.
Investigators recovered some items after the January break-in and blaze, but much of the alleged loot was destroyed in the fire or remains unaccounted for.
The arson charge hangs over the three youths who admitted breaking in.
For colleagues and neighbours, the affair is an uncomfortable reminder of how quickly private relationships can be weaponised, and how the fear of reputational ruin can be used to coerce and silence victims.
Whatever the court decides, the damage is done: a teacher’s sense of safety and career prospects are in tatters, families on both sides are fractured, and a city watches seven teenagers’ futures hang in the balance.
The final word – for now
When the trial resumes, judges will weigh contradictory testimonies against digital records and medical assessments.
For the victim, a verdict can’t undo months of alleged torment; for the defendants, an outcome will determine whether they are seen by the justice system as wayward youths or hardened offenders.
The case is due back in court on October 15. Verdicts are expected by October 20 and Austria will be watching closely.
newsXThe gang also siphoned cash and possessions from the teacher, prosecutors allege[/caption]
YouTube/RTLWhen the trial resumes, judges will weigh contradictory testimonies against digital records and medical assessments[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
