Man wanted for groping girl on train already in custody

The police found a man wanted for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl on a train between Coevorden and Emmen in February. It turns out the man was already in custody, AD reports.

Earlier this week the police released photos of the man, asking the public to help track him down. But he was already in custody in the center of the country. "We would never have released the images if we had known that", police spokesperson Paul Heidanus said to Dagblad van het Noorden.

According to Heidanus, the man was initially not recognized by the police. "We always communicate internally first that we are looking for a certain suspect. That did not lead to recognition in this case. The perpetrator was therefore unknown." The Public Prosecutor gave the police permission to release photos of the suspect on Opsporing Verzocht.

"He was recognized soon after the broadcast", Heidanus said. "We removed the images as quickly a possible."