Sexual assaults in the Gelnhausen outdoor pool: What’s happening now!

Sexual assaults in the Gelnhausen outdoor pool: What’s happening now!

An incident on June 22, 2025 in the Gelnhausen outdoor swimming pool, Hesse, caused a stir: several girls between the ages of 11 and 16 were sexually harassed by a group of young men. What is particularly explosive is that the suspected perpetrators, four Syrian men between the ages of 18 and 28, have been in the country for years but only have minor criminal records. Hesse's Interior Minister Roman Poseck reported that one of the suspects had previously been charged with alleged threats and grievous bodily harm in April 2025, while the others had no previous police convictions other than violations of the residence law. The incidents have sparked a wave of outrage and raised questions about safety at public swimming pools. The public prosecutor's office has taken over the investigation, and a total of eight female victims are now assumed.

The girls affected immediately reported to the lifeguards and the police were on site within just ten minutes. However, despite the early alarm, the suspects were released after their short-term arrest because the conditions for pre-trial detention were not met. Another man, who was considered a possible accomplice, could no longer be identified as he fled. In an extremely critical comment, Poseck emphasized that all interior ministers support the deportation of criminal foreigners, which is being discussed again in the case.

Security situation in Hesse's swimming pools

In the generally tranquil surroundings of Gelnhausen, Mayor Christian Litzinger (CDU) did not feel safe enough to recognize a major security problem. This is the first incident of its kind at the Barbarossa outdoor pool this year, although four non-sexual incidents were recorded last year. In addition, the number of sexual assaults in Hessian swimming pools has remained constant in recent years. According to the static data, the number of reported sexual offenses in Hesse fell from 81 in 2019 to 74 in 2024. With hundreds of thousands of visitors to around 400 swimming pools at the same time, the clearance rate of 82 percent is encouraging.

The State Criminal Police Office confirms that 55 of the 57 suspects identified last year were male and that many of them are in a precarious immigration situation. This is reminiscent of reports from Bavaria, where the number of sexual assaults in swimming pools rose from 171 in 2022 to 227 in 2024. This is precisely where it becomes clear that the practices in danger prevention and in the public perception of dangers in the swimming pool area must be viewed critically across the region.

While Gelnhausen is once again talking about an isolated case, experts point out that attacks are not always recognized immediately. The Federal Association of German Swimming Masters therefore warns of a staff shortage that could endanger safety in the pools. The incident in Gelnhausen could therefore be a wake-up call for outdoor pool operators to establish better training for both staff and bathers.

In the aftermath of the incident, city leaders banned the accused men and announced that the city police would patrol the bathroom more regularly in the future. This not only shows how seriously the situation is being taken, but also that the safety of visitors must come first.