7 Youths With Migrant Background Accused of Raping and Blackmailing a Teacher

A shocking case in Austria is making headlines across the country after a seven-member youth gang raped a teacher, abused her, burned her apartment down, and even beheaded a dead animal on video with a machete, according to prosecutors.

The youths are now standing trial, accused of abusing the teacher for months. Aged 14 to 17, they appeared in Vienna district court of Liesing.

The Austrian media is running multiple stories on the case, including in Der Standard and Kronen Zeitung. The victim is a teacher in her late twenties.

The list of charges is shocking, including aggravated extortion, gang rape, rape, sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and arson.

The victim told police that she had consensual sex with one of the underage students in April 2024. He was only 16 at the time.

From there, her sexual relationship spiraled.

Prosecutors say the teen later showed up to the apartment with other youths, who called themselves the Liesing gang. They then said they had blackmail material on the teacher after she had sex with a minor, at which point they leveraged that information for more sex, as well as drugs and other items from the teacher.

The youths also began filming her and taking more photos, which the teacher says they used to build more blackmail material.

Armed with the blackmail material, she says they forced her to buy them drugs, food, and tobacco.

A 15-year-old Iraqi is accused of putting an extreme amount of pressure on the victim, demanding her pay for a variety of items. The 15-year-old also obtained the ATM details of the woman and paid for 31 taxi rides with Uber and Bolt, which resulted in €545.28 worth of fees.

However, the more serious charges relate to the sexual abuse allegations. The woman says she was continuously forced to have sex with the teens, who the press has identified as having migrant background in most cases.

The gang also showed her intimidating videos of the gang’s actions, including a video where they beheaded a dead animal with a machete. It is unclear if they are charged with any crime related to the beheading, as the animal was already dead.

In January, the youth are believed to have burned down the woman’s apartment, according to prosecutors. The woman was away on vacation when the youths broke in through a back patio, hosted a party, and then burned down her apartment afterward, according to prosecutors.

Four members of the youth gang were identified getting off near a tram right before the blaze began. The 15-year-old Iraqi was tracked down to being inside the woman’s apartment the night it burned down. He was logged into the apartment’s Wi-Fi right before the arson. One of the woman’s watches was also recovered from the teen’s sister after he gave it to her.

Once the teacher returned to her apartment, she contacted authorities about the details of the case.

“During the police investigation into the cause of the fire, she finally told officers about her months-long ordeal,” according to the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Police found DNA evidence of two of the youth gang members on cigarette butts at the crime scene. The teenagers deny all charges and refuse to testify in the case.

One 15-year-old youth admitted to taking taxi rides, which the teacher paid for. They all say the woman consensually had sex with them.

The youths potentially face up to seven and a half years in prison if convicted, according to Kronen Zeitung.