Twice as many sexual assaults have been reported during the first week of Oktoberfest in Munich compared to 2015, despite added security and fewer visitors.
Organizers have boosted security for this year’s celebration of Oktoberfest amid the growing terror threat and the recent trend of sexual assaults in Germany.
A total of 16 sexual assaults were reported during the opening week, a doubling from eight in 2015. Suspects are both German and foreign, according to police.
Werner Feiler, Munich’s deputy police chief, thinks the increase has to do with more people reporting what they see than they have in the past.
“The striking increase is due, in our view, to our officials and civilians acting on their own initiative if they observe something,” Feiler told German magazine Focus.
So far no rapes have been reported, although officials managed to stop a 32-year-old man from having sex with an unconscious woman during the opening night.
Attendance was down 50 percent during the first weekend due to bad weather and fear of terror attacks.
More than six million people attend the festival each year.
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