The prosecution accuses the Syrian migrant of several dozen crimes, including aggravated child sexual rape, robbery, assault and kidnapping. However, he pleaded not guilty, claiming that the 12-year-old girl "wanted children from me."

The trial of Syrian asylum seeker Bilal A., who is accused of raping a 12-year-old girl as well as a 33-year-ld Ukrainian refugee, is underway at the Erfurt Regional Court. The number of crimes he is being tried for has produced a great number of headlines in Germany.

The prosecution accuses the 19-year-old migrant of dozens of crimes, including aggravated child sexual rape, robbery, assault and kidnapping,

The migrant arrived in Germany just two years ago, but since then, he has wracked up an enormous criminal record, including the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl. In court, he said regarding the allegation: “The sex was consensual. She said she wanted children from me. I swear I didn’t hurt anyone.”

However, the judge rejected the migrant’s arguments, pointing out that the girl was “clearly a child” at the time of the alleged rape.

“If what you say is true, then two women who do not know each other would have made false statements to the police completely independently of each other. Why should they invent all this? the judge asked.

According to Remix, Bilal A. reportedly met his victim while consuming alcohol and drugs. From October to December last year, he is said to have locked the girl in her mother’s apartment for hours on several occasions, while he threatened her, beat her, and kicked her.

However, the little girl is not the only one raped by the migrant, according to prosecutors. The 19-year-old Syrian national allegedly raped, strangled, and robbed a Ukrainian woman in a refugee accommodation in June 2022. Despite the long list of crimes, the perpetrator is facing only five years of prison if convicted, and his sentence could be reduced in a variety of ways. A verdict is expected in November.