German authorities in Cologne have opened a criminal investigation into suspected sexual harassment involving a humanoid robot. The probe follows an incident occurring overnight between Saturday, Oct. 10, and Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in which a robot allegedly touched the buttocks of a 16-year-old girl and made sexual gestures toward her. Police seized the robot and two mobile phones as evidence and are treating two teenagers as suspects.
The incident took place near a fast-food restaurant on a street in Cologne. According to police and video footage, the robot was escorted toward a group of women, where it allegedly bumped into one and hugged others before the reported encounter with the 16-year-old. Investigators said the encounter was filmed and livestreamed online with commentary by the suspects.
Cologne police identified the suspects as the robot's 16-year-old owner and a 19-year-old companion. Emergency teams located the individuals and found the robot stored in the trunk of a Volkswagen at the corner of Magnusstrasse and Hohenzollernring. The robot is approximately 120 centimeters (3 feet 11 inches) tall, colored red and gold, and was dressed in a white tank top, black sweatpants, a gold chain, sunglasses, and a fake mustache.
Cologne police spokesman Christoph Bermel stated that the two male teenagers have not yet been charged. A focus of the investigation is to determine if the robot's movements were preprogrammed or controlled in real-time by the operators. Bermel noted that this type of incident represents "new territory" for the department, stating they were previously unaware of such a phenomenon.
The case involves a 16-year-old victim and two male suspects, ages 16 and 19. The incident highlights questions regarding harassment where a machine is involved but intent is attributed to human operators.
What happens next depends on the police analysis of the seized mobile phones and the robot’s internal software. A decision on formal charges is pending as investigators determine the level of manual control exercised by the suspects during the Sunday morning incident.