German police have launched a Europe-wide search for a 31-year-old Romanian man suspected of sexually abusing a six-year-old girl near Europa-Park in Rust, Baden-Württemberg, after she became separated from her parents at the park’s Rulantica water complex. Authorities believe the man has already fled to his home country.
According to police, the incident occurred on Saturday evening when the girl lost sight of her parents in the pool area. As reported by Welt, the suspect allegedly offered to help her, gained her trust, and then led her into nearby woodland, where he is accused of soliciting sexual acts before leaving her alone.
Investigators say there is currently no evidence that the girl was raped, but was a victim of serious sexual assault.
The child then wandered alone through the park, still wearing a swimsuit and flip-flops, before being found over an hour later and five kilometers away in the neighboring town of Kappel-Grafenhausen.
“One can imagine that after such a horrific act, a child’s soul is certainly not in a good state,” said Offenburg police spokesman Wolfgang Kramer, who confirmed the girl was not seriously injured externally.
The suspect was identified through surveillance footage from the water park. An arrest warrant was issued on Tuesday, but a search of his apartment found no sign of the perpetrator.
Bild reported late on Thursday that the suspect’s passport was missing, and police suspect he has returned to Romania. “According to current information, the prime suspect may have fled to his country of origin,” police said, adding that they are conducting a comprehensive cross-border manhunt.
Initially, investigators pursued another man but cleared him after questioning. A witness later provided the breakthrough identification that led to the arrest warrant. Police describe the suspect as having a full black beard and short dark hair, but warn he may have altered his appearance.
Europa-Park CEO Michael Mack said the park’s owners were “deeply saddened” and had contacted the girl’s family directly. A park spokesperson added that all 700 employees at Rulantica have been briefed on the attack and are on high alert.
The case comes amid several recent incidents of sexual harassment at swimming pools and lakes across Germany. A disproportionate number of perpetrators are foreign nationals.
In June, a group of Syrian migrants was arrested, suspected of sexually assaulting at least nine underage girls, aged between 11 and 17, at the Barbarossabad swimming pool in Gelnhausen, Hesse.
In neighboring Switzerland, all foreigners were banned from an outdoor swimming complex following multiple reports of violence, sexual harassment, and anti-social behavior by “French youths with a migration background.”
A week after the pool was closed to foreigners, the complaints stopped, and a surge in season tickets was recorded. “It’s much quieter now,” said Luna Lando, a lifeguard at the Porrentruy pool in an interview. “There’s no need for security anymore.”
“We wouldn’t have been able to come here anymore if the measures hadn’t been introduced,” Vieira da Silva Aurelie, a local swimming instructor.
