Four Syrians Arrested for Sexual Assault in German Town

Four young men, aged between 18 and 28, have been arrested in a small German town for allegedly sexually assaulting nine minor girls at a public swimming pool. This incident took place last Sunday in Gelnhausen, located in central Germany.

The police in Southeast Hesse reported that the assault involved five girls initially, but as details emerged, four more victims came forward. The ages of the minors range from 11 to 17 years. The girls described how the men approached them in the whirlpool area and began groping them.

Authorities mentioned that two of the suspects are related. Along with facing criminal charges, all four men have been banned from the public pool. A fifth suspect is still at large after managing to escape the scene.

Gelnhausen’s mayor, Christian Litzinger, stated that this was the first incident of this nature reported this year in their community, which has a population of about 23,000.

Moreover, there have been increasing reports of similar incidents in swimming pools across Germany, a trend that some attribute to the influx of immigrants during the previous European migration crisis. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-border policies have drawn criticism for their role in these developments.

For instance, in 2016, immigrants were banned from a bathhouse in Zwickau, Saxony, after a shocking incident in which a group had assaulted other bathers, leading to severe consequences. In the summer of 2023, public pools in several cities, including Berlin and Mannheim, were temporarily closed due to troubling behavior reported among “youths” from predominantly Arab and Chechen families.

Concerns about safety and trends in swimming pool assaults have been echoed by German officials. The head of the German Police Union, Rainer Wendt, noted a pattern wherein young men with immigrant backgrounds were often implicated, yet political leaders seemed hesitant to address these issues openly.