German police have launched an investigation into possible sexual assault after a robot operated by two teenage boys allegedly tackled a 16-year-old girl and groped her buttocks.
The incident occurred late Sunday night in the city of Cologne in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Police said the robot’s owner, a 16-year-old, and his 19-year-old companion filmed the attack and livestreamed it on social media.
Police said the girl was outside the fast food restaurant with female friends aged 17 and 18 between 11:45pm and midnight local time. A robot approximately 120 centimeters tall approached the girl from behind and committed the crime.
Police said emergency services were called to the scene and found the suspected attacker and the robot in the trunk of a car.
Authorities confiscated the two suspects’ robots and mobile phones.
Video footage circulating online shows a robot wearing a white vest with gold chains and sunglasses approaching a woman on the street and making sexually explicit gestures.
Authorities are investigating whether the robot’s movements were pre-programmed or intentionally controlled at the time of the incident.
