German authorities are investigating after a 16-year-old girl reported being sexually assaulted by a remote-controlled robot.
According to German police, the red-and-gold robot approached the girl from behind as she stood with friends outside a fast-food restaurant in Cologne on Oct. 10, authorities said in an English-translated press release.
The roughly 4-foot-tall machine allegedly touched the girl’s backside and made thrusting motions against her. Police said two other teenagers, ages 19 and 16, may have livestreamed the incident on social media.
Police later located the two male suspects and found the robot inside the trunk of a Volkswagen, where the younger suspect had placed it.
“Officers confiscated the robot and two mobile phones belonging to the suspects,” the press release stated. “The criminal investigation department is investigating on suspicion of sexual harassment.”
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The two men have not been charged, Cologne police spokesperson Christoph Bermel told the Associated Press. Authorities are examining whether the robot’s movements had been programmed beforehand or were controlled in real time, he said.
“We have not been aware of this phenomenon so far,” Bermel told the outlet, describing the case as “new territory for us.”
Cologne police shared a photo of the robot on Facebook. In the image, it is wearing a white shirt, sunglasses, a gold chain and a fake mustache.
The Associated Press reported that an online video appears to show two men directing the robot toward a group of women on a street. After the robot made sexual gestures, one of the men shouted and pulled it away.
A Cologne police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
