A gang of eight teenagers and young men aged 16 to 26 has been arrested for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl at a public swimming pool in Germany.
The incident involving men from Syria and Turkey took place at the Agrippabad swimming pool in Cologne on Sunday, 17th September.
The young men are said to have surrounded the young German girl and abused her, with one of the 16-year-olds even putting his hand inside her bikini bottoms.
The young girl, who has not been named, freed herself from her attackers and ran to a lifeguard, who alerted the authorities.
The gang were arrested by the police outside the swimming pool just as they were about to flee.
Witness Momo S. told local media: “I was in the swimming pool with my girlfriend and two companions. The boys stood on the diving board for a long time, but didn’t want to jump.”
He said he saw the girl running to the lifeguard a short while later, adding: “He then ran around the pool with her to find the boys.”
They were reportedly located using CCTV.
Momo said: “Then they took a few of the boys off the slide and brought two or three boys from a lobby back into the pool hall. They then all had to stand against a wall under the slide.”
One of them was reportedly handcuffed.
Mom said: “Several of the boys then grinned at other girls and also my girlfriend, even when the police were already there.”
After being investigated, the suspects were all released, including the prime suspect, the 16-year-old, who was handed over to his parents.
He is reportedly a refugee living in a dormitory in the city.
The seven other suspects are Syrian and Turkish nationals, four of them from Syria and three of them from Turkey.
The liberal-conservative CDU (Christian Democratic Union of Germany) parliamentary group vice-president in the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament, Gregor Golland, told local media: “Unregulated immigration, especially of young men, is overwhelming our country and has negative consequences.
“We should ensure that women and children in particular are better protected.”
The term ‘taharrush gamea’ became widely known in Europe following the attacks across German cities at the New Year in 2016 and basically refers to ‘collective harassment’.
The men first surround their victim in circles. Some then sexually assault her, while others not directly involved watch or divert outsiders’ attention to what is occurring.
There remains debate about what defines ‘taharrush’ – some still insist it is a reference to flirting – though scholars argue its definition changed after the attacks seen in Egypt from 2011 onwards.
