Cologne
Eight young men and teenagers are said to have sexually abused 13-year-olds in a swimming pool
The incident occurred in the outdoor pool of the Agrippabad in Cologne (symbolic image)
© Christoph Hardt/Geisler-Fotopres / Picture Alliance
A group of young men are said to have surrounded, harassed and abused a girl in Agrippabad in Cologne – the 13-year-old was able to free herself. The investigation is now underway.
A group of teenagers and young men are said to have harassed and sexually abused a 13-year-old girl in a Cologne bathroom. According to current findings, the eight suspects between the ages of 16 and 26 are said to have surrounded the girl in a pool, harassed her and thrown her up, as the police announced on Monday. According to a police spokesman, the main suspect is currently a 16-year-old who is said to have reached into the girl’s bikini bottoms.
It was said that the girl managed to free herself during the incident in the outdoor pool of the swimming pool on Sunday and inform the lifeguard. He called the police, who arrived with seven patrol cars and found the suspects at the exit of the pool. A spokesman for KölnBäder said the incident could be confirmed. “Our employees were spoken to and responded calmly,” he said. Since this is an ongoing process, we cannot and do not want to comment further.
Cologne: Investigations are still in their early stages
Three of the suspected perpetrators are 16 and 21 years old. The two other suspects are 22 and 26 years old. The teenagers and young men live in the Rhineland. Three of them have Turkish citizenship and four have Syrian citizenship. The 16-year-old youth who is said to have reached into the girl’s bikini bottoms is Iraqi. According to the police spokesman, it is not yet clear which crimes are accused of which parties. The 16-year-old main suspect is suspected of sexual abuse or serious sexual abuse – but that still needs to be clarified. However, the investigation is still in its early stages.
“The entire interrogation process is still pending. Of course that takes time,” said the police spokesman. The suspects were processed for identification purposes – i.e. identified – after the alleged crime. They were then released again. According to the police, there is also a witness who witnessed the incident and provided information about it. But he also needs to be questioned more closely. More witnesses are being sought. The 13-year-old herself was heard in the presence of her parents, said the police spokesman. Victim advocates would also contact her and they wanted to deal with her calmly and carefully.