The German police have waited nearly a year to release a composite sketch of a man accused of ripping a 13-year-old girl off her bicycle in Rheine, North Rhine-Westphalia, and sexually assaulting her after her school day was finished.
The girl was riding her bicycle on May 6, when the man attacked her at 1:30 p.m., not far from her school, the Copernicus Gymnasium.
Local police described the incident as follows: “The unknown man stood in a small alley. He pulled the girl off her bike.” Although police have not disclosed exactly what happened to the girl, they describe the man sexually assaulting her in the alleyway.
After the incident, “he then threatened her with death if she told anyone about the crime.”
The student was able to break free from the pedophile and flee. She provided a very detailed description of the man, describing him as 40 years old, 1.90 meters tall, and slim. He has dark eyes and dark brown hair, which has curls down to the ears. He was wearing black pants and a blue t-shirt.
Bild indicated that the police did not disclose why the composite sketch was not created and published the sketch right after the crime instead of waiting nearly a year.
However, even when German police have an actual photo of a suspect, it can sometimes take months for judges to approve the release of such photos.
In one case, German police waited 11 months to release the photo of an alleged Black rapist. In another case, Berlin police waited eight months to release the photo of a suspect who was wanted for attempted rape.
