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CRIME

Fire chief in Lower Austria confirmed as arsonist

The fire chief of Wolfsbach in Lower Austria has admitted to starting seven separate fires that amounted to €80,000 in damages.

Fire chief in Lower Austria confirmed as arsonist
Photo: Wolfsbach Feuerkommandant

He has since been arrested and banned from the fire department. 

According to police, a series of fires which began in mid-July have been under investigation due to their suspicious nature and a link to the local fire chief. The latest incident took place as recently as September 24th. 

It all began with a wood chip heating system, then a barn and some rubbish bins went up in flames. A garden shed was burnt two weeks later, followed by some outdoor furniture and a patio door which caught fire directly within the fire chief’s home.

He and his current partner had to be briefly hospitalised for smoke inhalation after the incident in his house. 

Despite the fact that the 37-year-old fire chief admitted to the arson charges, his motive still remains unclear.

The Lower Austrian newspaper NÖN reports that among the possible reasons for his actions are the “accumulated pressure” from his divorce and alimony payments.

He will nevertheless never be able to work as a fireman again. “Whomever commits such inexplicable acts has no place within an organisation that claims 70,000 annual voluntary deployments in the service of humanity”, said Franz Resperger, spokesman for the Lower Austrian fire fighter’s association. 

As the investigation continues, the arsonist will remain in police custody in St. Pölten. 

CRIME

Austria investigates 17 teens for alleged sexual abuse of girl

Austrian authorities on Friday said they were investigating 17 teenagers - including 12 minors - over the alleged months-long sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl in Vienna last year.

Austria investigates 17 teens for alleged sexual abuse of girl

The alleged offences took place in a disadvantaged area of the capital’s south “between February and June 2023, in toilets, garages, a hotel and in the perpetrators’ homes”, Florian Finda, deputy director of the Vienna police, told a news conference.

The suspects in the rare case – most of whom are aged between 14 and 18 – are of Bulgarian, Italian, Serbian, Syrian and Turkish origin.

Two of them are under 14 and therefore below Austria’s age of criminal responsibility.

The suspects – almost all of whom were known to police for other offences – are accused of serious sexual abuse of a minor, including the pornographic depiction of the abuse of a minor.

Thirteen suspects were questioned on Thursday, with some of them partially denying the allegations.

The suspects and the Austrian victim met through one of the accused, with whom the then 12-year-old is said to have made out with.

She was then introduced to the rest of the group.

The boys allegedly exchanged videos and photos of the abuse via social networks including WhatsApp chats, with one of them allegedly threatening to share the pornographic material.

According to the police, none of the material was made available to the wider public.

In October, the young girl, now 13, informed her mother, who subsequently filed a complaint.

The ongoing investigation is due to be transferred to the public prosecutor’s office.

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