The family reported on their own after months of silence and insufficient internal measures.
Instead of quickly reporting to the authorities, the center would have applied improvised solutions, such as alert keywords for girls or changes in internal spaces. The explanation that transpired is even more controversial: it would have sought to prevent suspects from being singled out or “stigmatized”. That logic, in fact, left the victim in a situation of prolonged vulnerability.
A new scandal shakes Berlin after serious allegations of alleged sexual abuse against a teenager came to light in a youth center in the Neukölln district, one of the neighborhoods with the largest migrant population in the German capital. The minor, of Turkish-Kurdish origin, allegedly suffered several episodes of aggression between November and January, while local staff chose not to go to the
police.The first episode allegedly occurred in November, when the young woman was attacked in the garden of the property during the night. After that situation, he stayed inside the place for hours without being able to leave because the enclosure was closed, and finally he escaped by jumping over a fence, which would have caused a broken ankle. Months later, in January, there would have been a new event inside the center: several young people allegedly subjected her to group touches in a back room while another played the bell, until an employee intervened
and stopped the sequence.
The seriousness of the case increased even more when it transpired that one of the attacks was allegedly filmed and then used to extort money from the victim. According to the same versions, the material would have served to threaten her with possible dissemination if she did not comply with the demands of her aggressors, in a context of ridicule, pressure and an intimidating climate that, always as published, had already been registered within the center for months before
The family ended up turning to the police on their own, and the teenager testified on video to avoid repeating her testimony over and over again. From there, the researchers seized electronic devices and opened proceedings. The Secretary of State for Youth and Family in Berlin, Falko Liecke, described the situation as completely unacceptable and warned that it is being analyzed whether there were breaches in
the area of child protection.In parallel, the Neukölln district, headed by Mayor Martin Hikel, came under pressure to review protocols, responsibilities and reaction times. The local administration recognized the seriousness of the case, although they pointed out that the information would not have reached political levels until weeks after the events occurred
.
