Child lured out of Europa-Park 31-year-old caught after abuse case - extradition decided
The fugitive suspect has been identified from CCTV footage, police said. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Police are searching for the alleged perpetrator. (symbolic image)
Image: dpa
The fugitive suspect has been identified from CCTV footage, police said. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Police are searching for the alleged perpetrator. (symbolic image)
Image: dpa
A trip to Europa-Park's Rulantica pool ends in tragedy: a child disappears without a trace and later becomes the alleged victim of abuse. In the meantime, a suspect has been arrested in Romania - he is to be handed over to the German authorities soon.
15.08.2025, 23:00
18.08.2025, 14:53
dpa
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- Following the alleged sexual abuse of a little girl at the Rulantica water park, a suspect has been arrested.
- The 31-year-old suspect was arrested in Romania.
- The Romanian, who according to the police lives in the region and had visited the pool himself that day, was identified after the crime by surveillance videos.
- The arrested suspect will soon be handed over to the German authorities.
Following the alleged sexual abuse of a little girl at the Rulantica water park in southern Baden, a 31-year-old suspect has been arrested in Romania. This was announced by the police in the evening. An international arrest warrant had been issued for the man.
He is accused of luring the six-year-old child out of the bath into a forest last Saturday and sexually abusing her. The helpless girl was found only two hours later, five kilometers away from the swimming pool.
The man was arrested late in the evening, according to the Offenburg police headquarters. Further details of the arrest were not initially available.
Surveillance videos led to the perpetrator
The Romanian, who according to the police lives in the region and had visited the pool himself that day, was identified after the crime by surveillance videos. Europa-Park, the operator of the baths, had made these available. An arrest warrant had been issued for the man on suspicion of sexual abuse of a child.
Child remained largely unharmed on the outside
On the day of the crime, the six-year-old had lost sight of her parents in the bath. The man had apparently noticed this and, according to the police, approached the child and offered him help. He then led her into a nearby wood and asked her to perform sexual acts on him.
There is no evidence of rape. The child also remained largely unharmed. After the crime, the 31-year-old left his victim alone, the police said. Meanwhile, the parents frantically searched for their child in the bathroom.
Investigators first set their sights on other men
Before the investigators tracked down the man, they first had other suspects in their sights. However, these were then ruled out.
An uninvolved witness, who had also been seen in the footage, finally gave the investigators the clue to the man's identity. "From then on, we knew who he was," a police spokesperson said.
Suspect handed over to the authorities
The arrested suspect will soon be handed over to the German authorities.
The Court of Appeal in Oradea in northern Romania ruled that the extradition must take place within ten days, a court spokeswoman told the German Press Agency on Monday.
This deadline has been running since the court ruling on Saturday. The exact date of implementation is a technical issue on which the German and Romanian authorities are agreeing. It is still unclear whether the man has already been questioned.