Two rapes were reported in Cologne during Carnival celebrations on Thursday, a special event known locally as Women’s Carnival, police said on Friday. In both cases, mobile toilets were said to have been the crime scenes.
A still unidentified individual is alleged to have raped a 19-year-old in a portable toilet at the university meadows on Thursday afternoon, a spokesman said.
About two hours later, a similar incident reportedly occurred in the Zülpich district, with the 18-year-old victim reporting it at a pub. In this case, a suspect was briefly arrested.
Previously, the police had spoken of three alleged rapes. Later, a spokesman corrected these statements, saying an internal transmission error had led to one of the incidents being counted twice.
Police officers issued a dispersal order to a 76-year-old man who was allegedly photographing women’s buttocks. His camera was confiscated by the officers.
In the nearby town of Dusseldorf, police received reports of two cases of sexual harassment.