Cologne: In a shocking incident in Germany, three drunken youths sexually assaulted a Belgian journalist live on air.
The incident comes days after migrants were blamed to have carried out sexual attacks on New Year`s Eve.
According to Esmeralda Labye, who was reporting live from the Cologne carnival, said the men whispered 'would you sleep with me tonight' into her ear.
Some 2,000 police were on duty, about double last year`s number, after fierce criticism of the small force that was helpless on December 31 when gangs of men - many said to be North African migrants - sexually attacked and robbed women revellers.
Despite high security, the young German men made obscene gestures behind Labye's back as she reported live from the Alter Markt district of town for the one o'clock news for Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF).
Meanwhile, speaking to MailOnline, Labye said: ‘The cameraman and I could tell there were a lot of drunk people around. Even someone with flu would have been able to smell the alcoholic fumes.”
“When I started my broadcast at 1.14 pm, two or three men monopolised attention. I didn’t see them, as I was focusing on my live broadcast and they were behind me.”
“I got a kiss on the back of the neck. It was women’s day in Cologne, and there was a lot of kissing. In this context I wasn’t worried, so I continued my report.”
“Almost immediately, a young German sang in my ear: `Would you sleep with me tonight?` Then I felt two hands rest on my shoulders.”
“Later, I could see on the footage that the person behind me mimed an obscene gesture – something that shouldn’t have been on camera. He was mimicking sexual intercourse a number of times.”
When the broadcast was over and Labye went off air, one of the three men around her touched her breasts.
She lost cool and told the men to leave. The Cologne police is probing into the incident, along with 22 other complaints of sexual assault it received on the first day of the city`s giant carnival.
Watch the video here:
Police in the western German city have been struggling to restore public confidence after hundreds of women said they were groped and robbed in a mob of mostly North African and Arab men during New Year festivities.
