At the age of 14, Rashad A.’s criminal record already looks horrific. Now the police and the public prosecutor’s office in Wuppertal have caught him. At the age of 13, he is said to have committed eight violent acts. The young Syrian is alleged to have committed robbery, assault and even rape. Rashad A. is also alleged to have been involved in at least one assault on a prostitute.
Senior public prosecutor Wolf-Tilman Baumert explained: “There had already been an accumulation of violent offences in Wuppertal for months.” The public prosecutor’s office has determined that the 14-year-old is responsible for a large number of these offences.
Among the charges are three specific cases:
On March 2, Rashad A. hired two children to get the tenant of a petrol station to open his shop. The 14-year-old then robbed the shop with an accomplice. Rashad A. was caught but initially released.
On April 4, the boy brutally beat a man. The victim only knew how to help himself by jumping into the river Wupper and suffered hypothermia in the process.
On April 13, Rashad A. allegedly put a cigarette out on a victim’s hand.
After the public prosecutor’s office now applied for the arrest warrant, the boy was caught a few hours later on the grounds of the Easter fair at Carnaper Square in Wuppertal.
The alleged offences committed by Rashad A. before his 14th birthday as a minor are also taken into account in the arrest warrant, as there is a risk of repetition. An investigator told the newspaper Bild: “His propensity for violence was so high that we had to worry that it could become even more dangerous for victims. It is good that the young man is now in custody.”
Investigators are now also looking into whether Rashad A. is really only 14 years old. His height of 6.3 ft makes the investigators wonder. An expert opinion is now to clarify his age. If he is older, he would have to answer for earlier offences.
In case of a conviction, the suspected intensive offender, who arrived in Germany from Syria with his parents as a child, would face a severe juvenile sentence. If his victims also take civil action against him, he faces high payments for damages and pain and suffering. Senior public prosecutor Baumert explains: “Under 14, you are not of age to commit a crime, but under civil law it is different: You can be prosecuted from the age of 7.”