TV boast lands Moroccan in dock over New Year’s Eve sex attacks

A MOROCCAN asylum seeker has been charged over the New Year’s Eve sex attacks in Germany after his alleged victim saw him on TV boasting about how he had been allowed to stay in the country despite being a known criminal.

The 33-year-old, identified only as Toufik M, is accused of being part of a gang of around 20 men who surrounded the 18-yearold and groped her during the celebrations in Dusseldorf.

The man yesterday became the first person to go on trial over the sex attacks that took place across Germany on December 31, which according to authorities were predominantly carried out by Arabic and North African men.

His alleged victim claims to have recognised him as she watched a documentary on street crime, in which he was nicknamed the ‘prince of thieves’. In the film, he explained he had applied for asylum in Germany despite being investigated for crimes including causing bodily harm and theft. He had previously been sentenced to seven months’ probation.

In court, the alleged victim claimed the defendant lifted her skirt and grabbed her bottom, while others groped her. She said: ‘The worst was not knowing what was going to happen.’

The defendant’s 16-year-old girlfriend told the court he had been with her all night at a club, but failed to identify any other witnesses who could corroborate what she was saying. Most of the New Year’s Eve sex attacks took place in Cologne, where police received 1,527 criminal complaints, with more than 500 relating to sexual crimes.

More than a million migrants moved to Germany after Chancellor Angela Merkel last year threw open her country’s doors, but amid outrage over the attacks, the German government has moved to make it easier to deport foreign criminals.

The changes mean that even a suspended sentence would be grounds for deportation if someone is found guilty of crimes including bodily harm, sexual assault, violent theft or serial shoplifting.