The red-and-gold stranger: How a 4-foot robot was used to harass a teenager live online in Germany

Frankfurt: Police in Germany are investigating two teenagers after a 1.2-metre humanoid robot was allegedly used to sexually assault a 16-year-old girl in Cologne, with the incident streamed live on social media.

The victim was with two friends in the western German city late on Saturday when the red and gold device approached her. According to Cologne police, the robot touched the girl on the buttocks and made sexually suggestive thrusting motions.

Investigators suspect the robot’s owner, aged 16, and a 19-year-old accomplice controlled the device, filmed the incident, and provided commentary while broadcasting it live. Video footage circulated on TikTok shows the humanoid robot, accompanied by two young men, pressing up against the teenager as she screams and backs away.

Officers called to the scene later discovered the device hidden in the boot of a car. Police seized the robot alongside two mobile phones belonging to the suspects.

Enquiries are ongoing to determine the extent to which the device was directly controlled during the incident, with both teenagers currently under formal investigation.