We may never catch the Cologne sex attackers, police chief admits

Most of those responsible for the Cologne sex attacks may never be brought to justice, the city’s police chief has said.
Jürgen Mathies told the BBC he “could not exclude” the possibility that most of the perpetrators will never be caught.
The admission came as an asylum-seeker became the first person to be convicted in connection with the events of New Year’s Eve.
But the Moroccan man, who has not been named under German privacy laws, was charged with theft rather than sexual assault.
Jürgen Mathies attending the Carnival in CologneJürgen Mathies attending the Carnival in Cologne  Photo: Alamy
"The CCTV footage is not good enough to clearly identify sexual assaults. We can see some thefts but that's all,” Mr Mathies, who took over as police chief in the wake of the attacks, said.
“We are relying on witness accounts and victims identifying their attackers.”
Of the 14 suspects arrested so far, only one has been charged with sexual assault. The rest are being held on suspicion of theft.
Police out in force at Cologne CarnivalPolice out in force at Cologne Carnival  Photo: Eddie Mulholland/The Telegraph
That is despite the police identifying 593 separate cases of sexual assault carried out in the area around the city’s main train station on New Year’s Eve.
In the first case to come to court, a 23-year-old Moroccan asylum-seeker on Wednesday admitted stealing a woman’s mobile phone amid the chaos of the sex attacks.
He was given a six-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay a fine of €100 (£79).
Two more men were to go on trial in a separate case later on Wednesday.
A 22-year-old Tunisian and an 18-year-old Moroccan were facing charges of stealing a man’s camera in the tumult outside the railway station.
None of the suspects have been named under Germany’s strict privacy laws.
the main train station in CologneThe main train station in Cologne  Photo: Warren Allott/The Telegraph
Angela Merkel has been under pressure over her “open-door” refugee policy since it emerged many of the suspects in the sex attacks are asylum-seekers.
Police have so far identified a total of 73 suspects in connection with the events of the night, most of whom remain at large.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/12171816/We-may-never-catch-the-Cologne-sex-attackers-police-chief-admits.html

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