Austrian Police Confirm Boy Raped by Iraqi Refugee in Vienna Swimming Pool

Austria's police have confirmed a rape case involving sexual assault against a 10-year-old boy by an Iraqi migrant, local media said Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The rape incident, which took place in a public swimming pool in Austria's capital Vienna, occurred on December 2, the Austrian Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported.

On Saturday, the indictment was finally confirmed by police despite being reported by Austrian media in December, the report said. The case had not been confirmed earlier for victim protection reasons, according to a police spokesperson, as quoted by the newspaper.

The victim suffered from significant injuries requiring hospital treatment.

The 20-year-old perpetrator, who was arrested at the scene of the crime, arrived to Austria from Iraq along the Balkan route early September. When questioned by the police, the offender admitted to experiencing a "sexual emergency" after lacking sexual intercourse since arriving to the country. The man, who is married to a woman left behind in Iraq, admitted to committing a "huge mistake" by scarring the victim, the report said.

Europe's refugee crisis has been accompanied by a rising number of sexual assault incidents. A series of sexual attacks on women in the German city of Cologne occurred on New Year’s Eve, where groups of men of North African origin targeted female revelers. In January, Finnish and Swedish authorities issued warning for women to be wary of sexual attacks, while Vienna's police chief advised women against walking alone.