German police investigate alleged livestreamed sexual assault involving humanoid robot

16-year-old and 19-year-old under investigation after allegedly using robot to grope team girl and livestreaming it

FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) -- German police are investigating a 16-year-old and 19-year-old for allegedly using a robot to sexually assault a teenage girl, and live-streaming the act on social media, officials said Monday. The victim, aged 16, was with two friends in the western city of Cologne late Saturday when the 1.2 metre (four-foot) robot approached her, police said. The device, coloured red and gold, is then alleged to have touched the girl on the buttocks and performed thrusting motions, they said. The 16-year-old male, allegedly the owner, and the 19-year-old man are "said to have filmed the alleged assault, streamed it live on social media, and commented on it," said a Cologne police statement. A video circulating on platform TikTok shows a red and gold humanoid robot, accompanied by two males, pressing up against a teenage girl, who screams and moves away. Police were alerted and found the robot in a car boot, where the owner is suspected of having hidden it. Authorities seized the robot and two phones belonging to the suspects, who are now under investigation.

Social media footage shows two men walking behind the 1.2m tall red and gold robot as it approaches a group of girls in a busy area of Ringstrasse in the city centre.

Social media footage shows two men walking behind the 1.2m tall red and gold robot as it approaches a group of girls in a busy area of Ringstrasse in the city centre.