# Girl groped in Cologne: police seize a robot and look into who was controlling it

> Police in Cologne, Germany, are trying to establish whether two young men were controlling the robot themselves at the time, Gizmodo reports, citing the Associated Press.

Published on 2026-10-15

The incident allegedly took place on the night of 10 to 11 October. The two suspects, aged 16 and 19, are said to have streamed the scene live while commenting on it.

According to police, quoted by the AP, the robot touched the buttocks of a 16-year-old girl and made back-and-forth movements towards her.

According to the German agency DPA, the investigation is being carried out under laws that punish sexual insults.

Emergency services found the robot in the boot of a car. Police confiscated the machine, along with the two young men's phones.

Police spokesman Christoph Bermel told the AP that investigators had never dealt with this phenomenon before, and that it was “new territory” for them.

## Sources

- [Gizmodo (Robots)](https://gizmodo.com/german-police-investigating-if-teens-were-piloting-robot-that-groped-16-year-old-girl-2000826146)

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