A 16-year-old schoolgirl was allegedly raped in the garden of a state-funded youth centre in Berlin-Neukölln last November. It was evening. The building was locked. She spent hours crouching in a corner of the grounds before climbing a fence to escape, breaking her ankle in the fall. Her alleged attacker, a 17-year-old, is said to have filmed the assault. In the weeks that followed, he allegedly used the footage to blackmail her into returning every Monday. Other young men from his group are said to have found out about the video and began pursuing her too.

That alone would be horrifying enough. But what happened next is worse

That alone would be horrifying enough. But what happened next is worse

That alone would be horrifying enough. But what happened next is worse – because what happened next was nothing.

In January, the girl says she was attacked again. She alleges that several young men carried her into a back room, threw her onto a sofa, and took turns lying on top of her. A staff member eventually walked in and intervened. The girl then disclosed the November rape. The youth centre informed the local youth welfare office. And there the chain of responsibility appears to have simply stopped. Nobody at that stage called the police.

Not in January. Not in February. Rape is a reportable offence under German law, one that public bodies are obliged to refer to prosecutors the moment they become aware of the allegations. So why were the police not contacted sooner? Instead, the Neukölln youth welfare office appears to have delayed involving the police,........

© The Spectator