Germany Sex Assaults Were Worse Than Thought

The New Year's Eve attacks on women in Germany were much more widespread than originally reported. Though police initially identified about 30 suspects in Cologne, a Federal Criminal Police Agency document—obtained by a German newspaper—reveals that an estimated 2,000 men were responsible for attacks on 1,200 women throughout the country on New Year's Eve. Only 120 suspects have been identified so far, with about half of them being foreign nationals, reports Deutsche Welle. Just four men have been convicted, though trials are ongoing, reports the Washington Post.

"We have to presume that many of those crimes will never be fully investigated," says the president of the German Federal Crime Police Office. Most of the attacks were done by men moving in large groups, and low CCTV coverage and poor descriptions make identifying suspects difficult, he adds. The document reports that 650 women were attacked in Cologne and another 400 in Hamburg. Assaults were also reported in Düsseldorf and Stuttgart. The GFCP president says there is "no evidence" that the attacks were coordinated. (This new law could lead to more rape convictions in Germany.)