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The girl was found bruised and in shock in the hallway of a high-rise building, while questions mount over an apartment reportedly used by everchanging foreign occupants
Berlin police are investigating the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in a high-rise building on Neue Grottkauer Straße in the Berlin district of Hellersdorf.
The teenager was found in the hallway of the building at around 8 a.m. on Saturday by a neighbor who had just returned from shopping. Emergency services were called after the girl, bruised and unable to speak, collapsed nearby.
“She looked terrible. I hope she gets proper therapy and can somehow get her life back on track,” the neighbor later told NIUS, which spoke to residents and building staff. Paramedics who arrived at the scene determined that her injuries were consistent with sexual assault and immediately alerted the police.
Investigators from the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) secured evidence in an apartment on the third floor of the building. Police spokesman Martin Stralau confirmed to both BILD and Berliner Zeitung that authorities are investigating on suspicion of a sexual offense. “An arrest has been made in this case, but the man has since been released,” Stralau said, adding that no further details would be provided “out of respect for the victim.”
According to BILD, the 17-year-old was allegedly raped by two, possibly three, men who were in the apartment at the time. Neighbors described the apartment as suspicious and frequently occupied by new individuals, with many individuals often frequenting the property. Several residents said that the actual tenant had not been seen for months, with the apartment door often propped open and the mailbox overflowing.
A building manager told NIUS that the municipal housing company Stadt und Land had been unable to reach the tenant, identified as Amra R., who is believed to have sublet the flat before disappearing. “The apartment was vacated in September but left unlocked,” the manager said, adding that “dark-skinned men were later seen coming and going from the third-floor unit.”
Another resident told reporters that groups of men frequently entered the building at night. “The front door would be forced open, and men with hoods would scurry up to the third floor and disappear into that apartment,” said one elderly woman living on the ground floor.
Police have not disclosed the relationship, if any, between the victim and the suspected perpetrators, nor whether the girl entered the apartment voluntarily or was coerced.
A Tunisian man was briefly detained but later released. It is unclear if he still remains a suspect in the case.
In February, figures extracted from the state government following a parliamentary inquiry by independent MP Antonin Brousek found nearly half of all rapes and gang rapes committed in Berlin last year were carried out by non-Germans.
According to state government data, 7,475 sexual offenses were recorded in 2024, including rape and sexual harassment. Of the 754 identified rape suspects, 373 did not have German citizenship. Similarly, in cases of sexual harassment, 701 suspects were identified, of whom 353 were non-Germans.
These figures are always skewed, however, as foreign-born nationals who have since been naturalized are categorized as German.
