Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Dusseldorf sex assaults: Moroccan suspect arrested after he agreed to appear in documentary about pickpockets

The man appeared in a documentary named 'King of the Pickpockets'

Samuel Osborne
Tuesday 16 February 2016 19:06 GMT
Comments
A woman protests in front of Hauptbahnhof main railway station against the New Year's Eve sex attacks on 9 January, 2016, in Cologne, Germany
A woman protests in front of Hauptbahnhof main railway station against the New Year's Eve sex attacks on 9 January, 2016, in Cologne, Germany (Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A suspect in the New Year's Eve sex attacks in Düsseldorf has been arrested after the woman he is accused of assaulting identified him in a documentary.

The 18-year-old woman, who has not been named, spotted the 33-year-old Moroccan man when he appeared on a documentary about petty crime called "King of the Pickpockets" on Spiegel TV.

She reported him to police and he was arrested on Saturday morning.

The teenager alleges the man put his hand under her skirt, but she managed to break free.

She says he then chased her and assaulted her again, before threatening to hit her when she struggled - but he was stopped by other men who were with him.

While the suspect has not been named by police, Blid newspaper identified him as Taoufik M, a Moroccan man who has lived in Germany for two years.

"The man was one of a larger group of foreigners who carried out repeated sexual assaults and physical harassment," Düsseldorf police said in a statement.

When interviewed for the documentary, he denied allegations he was the leader of a gang of petty criminals operating in Düsseldorf.

Sexual assaults took place in a number of German cities on New Year's Eve.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in