A man has been sentenced to a year in prison after harassing at least 26 women on an escalator in Vienna’s 5th district.

Since August 2023, the 33-year-old had been lurking in a tram passage in the Margareten district, following women and targeting them on a narrow, unmonitored escalator. One victim was assaulted twice.

In two cases, the physical contact was so severe that the prosecutor described it as “close to rape.” The man pleaded guilty to charges of violating sexual self-determination and sexual harassment.

He will serve three months in prison, with the remainder of his sentence suspended for a three-year probation period. The court also ordered him to begin therapeutic treatment within a month.

The judge said the man had “shown no empathy” and had largely “felt sorry for himself.”

His defence lawyer said: “He did it. He saw someone else do it and had the stupid idea to try it himself.” The lawyer added that he did not know why.