An Austrian judge overturned the conviction of an Iraqi refugee who raped a 10-year-old boy at a pool, suggesting the man was unsure if the boy had consented or not.
The 20-year-old Iraqi refugee, identified as Amir A. in court documents, came to Austria via the Balkans in 2015. He was taken to the Theresienbad pool in Vienna in December, 2015 as part of program to integrate refugees into Austrian society.
Once at the pool, Amir dragged the boy, identified only as “Goran,” into the changing rooms, locked the door and sexually assaulted him.
After Amir returned to the pool, the boy reported the incident to a lifeguard and the police were called; Amir was arrested at the scene.
Amir confessed to the sexual assault, claiming he acted because of a “sexual emergency” as he had not had sex for four months.
Despite being sentenced in June to six years in prison for rape and aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, the Austrian Supreme Court has overturned the conviction after arguing the lower court did not prove Amir knew the child had not consented.
“This intention was not sufficiently established, so the Supreme Court quashed the rape conviction,” Austria’s national ORF reported.
A retrial is expected to begin sometime next year.
The boy suffered severe internal injuries and was taken to a nearby children’s hospital. He is reportedly still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The child’s mother, during an interview, claimed her son had been “screaming and crying every night” since the attack and had talked of committing suicide.
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