German authorities have initiated an inquiry into potential sexual harassment following an incident where a robot controlled by two young men touched a 16-year-old girl’s buttocks and engaged in thrusting movements towards her. The police in Cologne responded to the situation that occurred overnight on Saturday to Sunday, where the suspected 16-year-old owner of the robot and his 19-year-old companion were reported to have recorded the alleged assault and live-streamed it online.
The two male teenagers, although not yet charged, are being considered as suspects, and investigators are looking into whether the robot’s actions were pre-programmed or controlled in real-time. This type of incident was unfamiliar to the authorities, with Cologne police spokesman Christoph Bermel stating that it was uncharted territory for them.
Emergency teams who arrived at the scene near a fast-food restaurant discovered the robot in a vehicle’s trunk. The authorities confiscated the robot and the mobile phones of the two young men. The North Rhine Westphalia Police Cologne shared an image of the robot on Facebook, describing it as nearly four feet tall, dressed in a white tank top, black sweatpants, a gold chain, sunglasses, and a fake moustache.
Videos circulating online depict the two young men guiding the robot towards a group of women on a lively nighttime street, where it behaved inappropriately by bumping into one woman and hugging others. One of the men repeatedly reprimanded the robot and pulled it back after it made suggestive gestures, leading to laughter among onlookers.
In response to the incident, the police criticized inappropriate remarks on social media and cautioned against sharing or joking about such occurrences, emphasizing the negative impact on any victims.