A 15-year-old Belgian was arrested on the Greek island of Rhodes for allegedly groping a 16-year-old girl underwater, according to Het Nieuwsblad.
Police were called to the hotel around 17:50 on Monday afternoon by a British girl and her father, reporting a fellow guest, the Flemish suspect, who is alleged to have groped the girl underwater without her consent on one occasion. The boy was subsequently taken to the police station, where he is held in custody until his first court appearance on Thursday. He is accused of rape.
The suspect's family insists all acts between the teenagers were consensual, as they had known each other for a few days prior to the incident. "They had been in a relationship for a few days. She didn't indicate that she didn't want this — not even afterwards. It wasn't until she went to her father that a problem arose," the parents told Het Nieuwsblad.
The family were supposed to be departing the island on Monday evening and fly back to Belgium. "That's why they went to the sea together, to say goodbye," the boy's parents explained. "When they got out of the sea, they sat together on a bench to dry off. Everything was fine. Afterwards, they walked to the hotel together. He shook hands with her grandparents as a goodbye." The police arrest followed shortly after.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is monitoring the case and has committed to helping the family return to the country as soon as possible. In the meantime, the suspect has been placed in an office, with his parents allowed to visit him regularly. "Luckily, he's not in prison. The Greek police are very understanding, but they are taking the issue very seriously. The law has recently been tightened here. They're trying to reassure us, saying everything will be over soon," the family concluded.
