Asylum seeker, 14, suspected in Germany sexual assault

Police in Germany arrested three people including a 14-year-old Syrian boy seeking asylum in the Netherlands on suspicion of sexual assault. The accusation stems from an alleged New Year’s Eve attack on two girls, aged 14 and 15, newswire ANP reported on Thursday.

A 21-year-old Syrian with legal residence in Germany is also in custody, as well as a 14-year-old Syrian living in Switzerland, according to Dutch broadcaster NOS. The brother of the oldest suspect is also wanted for questioning. He is 15 and also seeking asylum, ANP wrote.

The victims told police they were gang raped by the four people when a friendly get together turned violent. The girls willingly joined the young boys in a visit to the 21-year-old’s home in Weil am Rhein, Germany, near the French and Swiss borders.

What started as willing “caresses” ended up in the girls being raped, they told German police. The boys let the girls leave to go home, but they instead went straight to a police station, NOS reported based on an interview with a police source.

The 15-year-old is still at large, but conflicting reports make it unclear if police consider him a suspect.

The incident is not connected to the mass sexual assault in Cologne, Germany on New Year’s Eve, police told ANP.