German prosecutors close file on alleged rape in Turkey

May 4, 2009, 12:13 GMT

   Lueneburg, Germany - German prosecutors said Monday they had closed their file on a teenager who was held for 247 days in Turkish pre-trial custody for the alleged statutory rape of a 13-year-old British girl.

The detention of Marco W, now aged 19, caused strains between the two nations, with the German media portraying the incident in a bedroom of a Turkish Riviera hotel as innocent sexual experimentation by two minors on holiday.

A separate German inquiry was opened in the hope that W would be released by Turkish authorities, so that he could be tried in Germany instead. But Turkey continued the proceedings and a court is set to issue its verdict soon, with the next hearing on June 5.

W was granted bail by the Turkish court after eight months in dormitory-type cells and flew home to Germany.

Prosecutors in the northern city of Lueneburg, who obtained Turkish documents on the case at the end of 2007, said their inquiry, begun on their own initiative, had finished, as it had not confirmed the suspicion of sexual assault.

The complaint was brought in Turkey by the girl's mother. W was a 17-year-old schoolboy at the time of the spring 2007 incident. He said the girl, who he met in the resort, had described herself as older and had consented.

The W family welcomed the decision Monday, saying it had restored their son's good name.