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Child catcher. That sounds too harmless. It is men, strangers who reach for children, destroy small and large souls. BZ tells the disturbing story of a recent case from Boxhagener Platz.
June 18, 2020, a summer Thursday evening, around 7.30 p.m .: There are still a lot of parents with their young children on the almost 860 square meters of the playground at Boxhagener Platz, which is fenced by a waist-high iron grille.
Heike S. (27, name changed) is about to head home with her two-year-old daughter when she watches a strange scene in front of her at the small pendulum access gate.
It makes her wonder. A little girl in a dark blue summer dress is fumbling around the gate. His mother is distracted for a moment, in conversation. She does not see how a very tall man with an unkempt beard and hair addresses the child.
Heike S. remembers: “It was a certain feeling: the girl and the man didn’t match. Then it happened very quickly: He took the child by the hand and started running. The child just went with it. It was clear to me that I had to go afterwards. ”Heike S. started with her own daughter in her arms.
With the help of the kiosk operator Zoran Z. (44), she was able to catch up and stop the man. He immediately admitted that the little girl was not his – and brought her back to the playground. There was already a desperate search for the girl.
Child catcher was released again
The child catcher was arrested, had to give fingerprints and blood – and was released the same evening. “At the time, the conditions for issuing an arrest warrant were not met,” said a police spokesman.
The man had a permanent residence, there was no risk of escape, and he had not made a relevant appearance. According to the assessment of the responsible LKA 124 (“crimes against children”), the man had a mental disorder. A pedophile or similar tendency was not discernible.
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According to BZ information, the case was reported to the district’s social psychology service. He can check whether the man is eligible for placement in a clinic.
The police continue to investigate suspected child confiscation. And tries to reassure worried parents via Twitter: “So far there is no evidence of sexual motivation or malicious intent.” Whether that is enough for the concerned parents from Boxhagener Platz?
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