Aggravated Assault: 22-Year-Old in Wels Sentenced to Prison for Shaking a Baby

Background: Relationship and Charges

According to the prosecution's account, he allegedly shook his then girlfriend's baby briefly but violently because he was overwhelmed by the crying. On 16 March, he is said to have inflicted shaken baby syndrome with brain and retinal hemorrhages as well as a skullcap fracture on the baby. The injuries were inflicted in a manner associated with life-threatening danger, the court found.

The baby was admitted to hospital in mid-March following a seizure and later transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit in Salzburg. There, doctors diagnosed shaken baby syndrome and a skull fracture. The baby suffered brain hemorrhages and bleeding into the left eye.

Medical Consequences for the Baby

The public prosecutor's office had accused the man of assault causing grievous bodily harm with lasting effects. The defendant was acquitted of this charge because, in the court's view, permanent damage to the child cannot currently be proven. The defendant had disputed the charges and did not enter a guilty plea; he did not confess.

During the trial, he was accused of violently shaking the infant on 16 March and inflicting blunt force trauma to the head. For aggravated assault, a 23-year-old was sentenced on Monday to 24 months in prison, eight months of which are unconditional. Reports vary on the defendant's age between 22 and 23 years; the court itself referred to a 22-year-old.

Acquitted of Charge of Lasting Harm

The trial was preceded in an investigative proceeding, in which the public prosecutor's office had classified the case as assault causing grievous bodily harm with lasting effects. The final legal classification on Monday fell short of the original charge: although the judges considered the act life-threatening, lasting consequential damage could not be proven at this point. The conviction was thus reduced to aggravated assault.

Support Services for Overwhelmed Parents

The trial shines a spotlight on the situation of young families and the stresses that can come with caring for an infant. Experts have long pointed out that persistent crying of a baby can push caregivers to the limit of what they can bear. Support services such as parental counseling or crying outpatient clinics advise in such phases to safely set the baby down, briefly leave the room, and seek support.

The verdict is not yet final, meaning that both the defense and the public prosecutor's office can lodge appeals within the statutory deadline. The case was reported via APA on 20 July 2026 and picked up by several Upper Austrian media outlets. Information on the child's current state of health has not been made public by the authorities.