A kindergarten teacher from Northern Burgenland had to answer at the Eisenstadt regional court on Tuesday because she is said to have forced children to eat at snacks and lunch. If they didn’t want to eat, she is said to have opened their mouths with her thumb and forefinger and pushed food into them. The 44-year-old pleaded not guilty. She saw the allegations of bullying from her colleagues.
The Eisenstadt public prosecutor accused the kindergarten teacher of coercion and continued violence. From 2016 to 2020 there should have been repeated incidents in which she is said to have forced the children to eat, yelled at and prevented them from getting up. The defendant rejected this. “I motivated the children and asked if they didn’t want to take a bite and already had enough. Sometimes I sat down with them to persuade them to eat,” said the 44-year-old. She tried to help children with difficulties with eating. For them it was something completely normal, stressed their defender.
The only explanation for her colleagues’ allegations is that “they didn’t want me there.” She was never directly approached or criticized for it, said the kindergarten teacher. In addition, the allegations did not arise until 2020, years after the first accused incidents.
The colleague, who worked with the 44-year-old in a kindergarten group, told the court that the children were partly afraid of the defendant. One boy vomited several times before dinner, others cried and screamed. She also asked the teacher why the children have to eat. To which she replied that food was valuable and should not be thrown away. However, she did not report the behavior of the accused because she was afraid for her job.
In the course of the morning, the other female colleagues of the 44-year-olds were interviewed. A verdict is expected in the afternoon.