A DISTURBING epidemic is sweeping through Germany with hundreds of people reporting sexual assaults in public swimming pools.
In one of the hardest-hit areas, 74 reported attacks have occurred lately, with many incidents involving children—one day saw eight young girls affected.
The issue has started to raise questions across Germany after a concerning number of reports were made last weekend.
Cops arrested four Syrian suspects, aged 18 to 28, and accused them of sexually assaulting up to eight girls in a public swimming pool in Hesse.
They were aged between 11 to 16 and had all been at the Barbarossabad pool on the same day.
And now further stats have shown a total of 74 cases of sexual violence were registered in Hesse’s swimming pools alone in 2024.
The study, done by the State Criminal Police Office (LKA), marks a worrying trend in the region with the number rising from 2023.
It also provided an insight into the main culprits of the alleged assaults.
In 60 per cent of cases, the suspects were not born in Germany.
And out of the 57 people questioned by cops over the allegations, only two were women.
Hesse’s Interior Minister, Roman Poseck, emphasized that every formal complaint must be addressed seriously to ensure that repeat offenders are removed from the streets.
He demanded: “The incidents at the swimming pool in Gelnhausen must be investigated swiftly and comprehensively.
“We must not allow our swimming pools to become sites of sexual assault.”
Elsewhere, Cologne has been forced to put up makeshift posters raising awareness of potential poolside dangers.
The sign shows a blonde man grabbing a young woman from behind as they both swim.
The heading reads: “Stop! No groping!”
There are said to be dozens of the posters spread across the city.
Despite the concerning national rise, German police are refusing to say swimming pools have become a hotspot for sexual crimes.
But Peter Harzheim, the president of the Federal Association of German Swimming Masters (BDS), says the numbers are worrying.
He said: “Many people are getting out of control because the sun is shining on their brains.
“The decline in skilled workers raises the concern that we may not be able to monitor everything effectively and respond as needed.”
The issue has been a long-standing one for many Germans.
Back in 2016, a town banned male asylum seekers from a public swimming pool after several women complained of harassment.
A government official in Bornheim said the men would be barred until they “got the message” that such behaviour will not be tolerated.
