German police are investigating a 16-year-old and a 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 inappropriately and performed thrusting motions, they said. The 16-year-old male, alleged to be 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 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. The incident has sparked widespread debate across Europe regarding the ethical boundaries and security risks associated with advanced consumer robotics.
Experts in cyber security and robotics law have pointed out that existing legal frameworks may require urgent updates to address crimes committed using autonomous or remote-controlled machines. Further forensic analysis of the seized devices and social media accounts is currently underway to ascertain the full extent of the involvement of both suspects.